Just before the end of 2014, WorkSafeBC (British Columbia) posted its first update of its progress in implementing recommendations from July’s WorkSafeBC Review and Action Plan prepared by WorkSafeBC special adviser GordMacatee.
Immediately following the government’s July 15, 2014, announcement of theWorkSafeBC Review and Action Plan report, the WorkSafeBC Board of Directors and Shirley Bond, Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Minister Responsible for Labour, accepted all of Macatee’s 43 recommendations and committed to providing public updates on its progress in implementing the recommendations to improve workplace health and safety in B.C.
Key progress since July includes:
- Implementing a sustained dust safety compliance plan for sawmills and wood manufacturing sector employers and introduction of new policies for sawmills and other wood processing manufacturers;
- Implementing a revised Major Case Management protocol;
- Creation of a gatekeeper position to ensure oversight of all appropriate legal information to relevant parties;
- Finalizing the signing of two Memoranda of Understanding between WorkSafeBC and police agencies to cooperate and share information when appropriately conducting concurrent, joint, or sequential investigations into the same incident; and between WorkSafeBC and the Criminal Justice Branch; and
- Developing a health and safety association in the wood manufacturing sector.
Links for detailed information on improved tools, policies, and protocols developed in the five months since the Action Plan are available online.
Macatee will continue to oversee the implementation of his recommendations and report on that progress on a monthly basis.
WorkSafeBC’s Board of Directors appointed Macatee on April 14, 2014, to oversee improvements to WorkSafeBC to further strengthen worker health and safety, build a world-class inspection and investigations regime at WorkSafeBC and ensure increasing dust mitigation compliance in sawmills and other wood manufacturing operations.
Author Kori Shafer-Stack, Editor, Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. is an expert in post-injury response procedures and part of the Amaxx team helping companies reduce their workers compensation costs by 20% to 50%. www.reduceyourworkerscomp.com. Contact: kstack@reduceyourworkerscomp.com.
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