In the past five years, more than 60 workers in B.C. were injured by drill presses. One safety officer says education is key to preventing such incidents. Mark Phifer, an occupational safety officer (OSO) with WorkSafeBC, has been doing inspections and attending incidents at B.C. workplaces for almost 20 years. Many of those incidents involved […]
How can we keep workers safe near reversing vehicles and equipment? Along with backup alarms, we need more solutions for preventing injuries. Struck-by incidents are a leading cause of injuries and fatalities in B.C. workplaces. From 2001 to 2018, 16 workers died when they were pinned, struck, or run over by mobile equipment or vehicles […]
The week’s theme focused on safety when working at the back of vehicles. To reach out to workers, the Actsafe team visited film sets around B.C. Working at the back of vehicles is one of the most significant hazards for workers in the film industry. That’s why Actsafe (the health and safety association for B.C.’s […]
You’ll soon see signs about vehicles needing chains and winter tires when driving on B.C. highways this fall and winter. Are you prepared? Even though summer is barely over, it’s not too early to prepare yourself or your workers for driving on wintry roads. If you drive a commercial vehicle, this means you will need […]
Summer is a good time for heli-ski guides to figure out the best hearing protection for wearing with helmets to minimize exposure to hazardous noise levels. Heli-ski guides have many things to keep in mind when it comes to safety – one of which is how to protect their hearing. Most of heli-ski guides’ exposure […]
Vision dictates your whole posture. If you can’t see properly, you tend not to sit properly. This can lead to eye fatigue, neck pain, and injury. Say “office ergonomics” and we tend to think about adjusting our chairs, keyboards, and monitors. But let’s not forget about our vision. Emma Christensen is a corporate ergonomist with […]
Some restaurant workers are choosing sneakers instead of heels. One server welcomes B.C. regulation changes that stop employers from requiring high heels. I asked a friend of mine – let’s call her Charlotte – what she thought about amendments to the B.C. regulation on occupational footwear that essentially bans employers from requiring heels. She’s 39 and […]
Exposure to flood waters can be a health hazard. Workers and homeowners need personal protective equipment to avoid exposure to sewage, chemicals, injury. When I started writing this, I could hear a heavy downpour of rain outside. Worried about drivers going through huge puddles, I tweeted a link to my post Don’t hydroplane in rain. […]
In a cranberry harvest, fields are flooded with water. Lifejackets or personal flotation devices (PFDs) are essential to prevent workers from drowning. A cranberry harvest is unique. The fields are flooded and workers knock the berries off their vines, then skim them from the water’s surface. Wearing a lifejacket or PFD reduces a worker’s risk […]
Young construction workers are less likely to wear hearing protection — WorkSafeBC looks for reasons why. Twenty-four percent of young workers in construction do not use hearing protection. They’re also less likely to wear hearing protection compared to young workers in other industries. This information is based on data from more than 160,000 hearing tests […]
