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Initiatives for Construction
Construction High-Risk Strategy
Why do we have a High-Risk Strategy (HRS)?
WorkSafeBC reviews historical incidents and claims statistics of all the industry sectors in British Columbia and identified Construction as one of four industries that have significant exposures and a greater risk of injuries and fatalities.
Since 2004, British Columbia has experienced increased levels of construction activity. Approximately $110 billion in construction activity will occur from 2007 to 2014. This ongoing activity requires attention, to ensure reductions in worker exposures, injuries and fatalities.
Key Performance Indicators (KPI) are configured each year to assess the changes throughout the industry and determine which areas require attention. Although progress has been achieved over the past 6 years, we need to ensure that the reductions and successes continue into the future.
| 19 Classification Units (with links to the Mechanisms of Injury Summary Sheets) | ||
|---|---|---|
| 721005 Demolition | 721022 Fire and Flood Restoration | 721043 Plumbing & Heating |
| 721009 Concrete Cutting/Coring | *721024 Framing/Residential Forming | *721049 Siding and Gutter Installation |
| 721010 Concrete Placing | *721027 House Construction | *721051 Steep Slope Roofing |
| 721011 Concrete Pumping | 721028 Building Construction | 721052 Structural Concrete Forming |
| 721012 Concrete Reinforcing | 721031 Land Clearing | 722005 Steel Frame Erection |
| 721013 Construction Labour Supply | 721036 Low Slope Roofing | *Residential Wood Frame Construction summary of all 5 * CUs combined |
Person Years (one person-year is the equivalent of one person working part or full-time all year)
Construction continues to play a key role in British Columbia's economy and employs a large number of people throughout the province - representing approximately 32,000 employers, 155,000 workers, and about 8% of the provincial workforce. Even with the decline in construction during 2009, employment has grown 34% since 2004.This is three times the growth of all other industries combined and includes many young and new workers.
Young workers represent approximately 15% of the entire construction workforce. However, they account for 25% of all construction injury claims - indicating that young workers are at a greater risk of injury than their more experienced counterparts.
Non-Health Care Only Claims (Non-HCO - a claim with a first benefit in the year of injury or in the first three months following the year of injury)
Claims have steadily increased in line with employment. However, the contribution has been declining over the past four years from 6.4% in 2006 to 4.6% in 2009. We want these reductions to continue. The following links list tools, publications, and other resources to help prevent injuries from the top three types of accidents:
Fatalities
Fatalities continue to be high in the industry. These are primarily attributed to the "Disease " and "Other Injury " categories - of 30 fatalities in 2009, 17 (57%) were disease (asbestos related) and 10 (33%) were categorized as other injury (falls and struck-by).
Injury Rate (the number of Non-HCO Claims per 100 Person Years)
The construction injury rate has been declining each year. We need to ensure that the trend does not change with a rebound in activity and employment during 2010.
Serious Injury Rate (the number of serious injury claims in a given year divided by the number of person years in a given year, multiplied by 100)
The serious injury rate is calculated as follows:
The denominator: The number of person-years of WorkSafeBC-covered employment.
The numerator: Claims with at least one of the following criteria:
- The claimant received at least 28 days of wage-loss benefits during that period
- The claimant required extensive hospitalization or medical services
- The claim is a fatality
- The claim met one of 275 specific diagnostic codes identified by WorkSafeBC's medical and occupational safety professionals as being the most life-threatening or life-altering conditions of those listed in the ninth revision of the International Classification of Diseases, developed by the World Health Organization. These codes are commonly referred to as ICD-9s.
Health-care-only claims are excluded from the calculation of the serious injury rate.
The industry has been able to make a significant impact on the rate of serious injuries over the past 5 years and this will continue to be a primary focus in 2010. The goal is maintain the serious injury rate below 2.00 and push it down further.
"Prime Contractors: How Do You Measure Up?" Campaign
The "Prime Contractor: How do you measure up?" Campaign was designed to provide a structured and consistent method to measure if Prime Contractors are reasonably fulfilling their legal duties and responsibilities across seven key areas.
Click on the links below for additional information on the "How do you Measure up?" campaign.
- Prime Contractors - Workbook Questions (PDF 84 KB)
- Subcontractors - Workbook Questions (PDF 45 KB)
Certificate of Recognition (COR) - Pilot Project
WorkSafeBC (the Workers' Compensation Board of B.C.) is now partnering with the B.C. Road Construction and Maintenance Safety Network (the Safety Network) to pilot a Certificate of Recognition (COR) program that offers a rebate to companies that become certified.
Road builders pave way for incentive program (PDF 62 KB)
WorkSafe Magazine February 2003
Information to-date
Minutes of October 30, 2002 Meeting
COR Partners
BC Construction Safety Alliance (BCCSA)
Construction Nurse Line
| Construction Nurse Line |
| 604 279-8155 OR 1 877 633-6233 |
| Weekdays, 8:30 A.M.-4:30 P.M. |
The Construction Nurse Line is a new provincial free of charge phone service providing construction employers direct access to a WorkSafeBC nurse advisor.
Construction Nurse Advisors:
- Are registered nurses with experience in construction
- Are experts in occupational injury and return-to-work planning
- Provide a clinical perspective that is separate from claims entitlement and prevention issues
- Collaborate with workers, employers, healthcare providers, and physicians to develop and monitor safe and individualized return-to-work plans
Who should call the Construction Nurse Line?
- Superintendents
- Supervisors
- Site safety officers
- Owners
- Return-to-work coordinators
- First aid attendants
When should you call the Construction Nurse Line?
- To arrange job site visits to facilitate your return-to-work planning if return-to-work barriers are identified
- For information on limitations and/or assistance in identifying appropriate modified duties
- To assist and support in problem solving return-to-work-issues
- To assist in developing your injury management/disability management programs
- For general claims update
| Keeping injured workers connected to the workplace or getting them back on the job is an important part of their recovery, and early intervention is the key to successful return-to-work planning. |
|
"Call us...when you need us!" 604 279-8155 or 1-877-633-6233 |
This service is available during business hours Monday to Friday (excluding holidays) from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm.
Resources:
- Fact Sheet (PDF 301 KB)
- Poster (PDF 2.5 MB)
- Pocket Card Actual size is 8½ cm x 5 cm. To obtain free copies call the Construction Nurse Line.
Source: WorkSafeBC 
Injury Management Road Map for Construction Employers
WorkSafeBC's new Injury Management Road Map is a step-by-step guide for employers to follow when a workplace injury occurs.
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Helping you deal with detours and unnecessary bumps in the road, it will ensure the return-to-work process is managed efficiently and effectively, allowing injured employees to remain at work or return to productive and appropriate work as soon as possible.
Click each step on the road and you'll be given all the tips and tools you'll need to effectively intervene and manage the injury. Within each step you'll find links to return-to-work forms and resources to help you through every step of the injury management process.
Return-to-work forms can also be printed and customized to suit your specific needs.
For advice anytime during the process, call the WorkSafeBC Construction Nurse Line to be directly connected to one of our Construction Nurse Advisors, your experts in occupational injury and return-to-work planning.
Call a Construction Nurse Advisor weekdays from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm at: 1 877-633-6233 or 604 279-8155.
Source: WorkSafeBC
Prevention Matters
A series of articles by Don Nelson, Industry Services Manager: Construction.
- Search on-line for Hazard Alert poster; On-line NOP form coming soon (PDF 131 KB)
Mar 2003
WCB has a new search engine for hazard alert posters. These highly popular one-page bulletins show real workplace accidents such as fatalities or traumatic injuries and how to prevent them.
- Preparing for winter's cold in the workplace and Upcoming Events for 2003 (PDF 108 KB)
Jan 2003
Construction is affected by many weather conditions - wind, rain, snow, ice, hail, fog and of course, cold temperatures. Dealing with these elements properly can affect safety on the job site. - Statistics show too many musculoskeletal injuries in construction (PDF 111 KB)
Dec 2002
Statistics from the Workers' Compensation Board of B.C. covering 1997-2001 show that there were more than 30,000 accepted claims in general construction. Almost one-third of those claims were musculoskeletal in nature. The human and financial cost of these claims is just too high. - Construction company wins award for young and new worker mentoring program (PDF 102 KB)
Nov 2002
Ledcor Industries Inc. was honoured in October with the award for Best Training/Orientation Program for Young and New Workers. The new award, sponsored by the Workers' Compensation Board of BC, was presented at the Canadian Society of Safety Engineering (CSSE) award banquet held on October 23, 2002.
- Prevention incentive pilot success leads to Certificate of Recognition program (PDF 111 KB)
Oct 2002
The Workers' Compensation Board of B.C. is now partnering with the B.C. Road Construction and Maintenance Safety Network (the Safety Network) to pilot a Certificate of Recognition (COR) program that offers a rebate to companies that become certified. -
Construction Safety Association to offer industry-based training and education (PDF 96 KB)
Sept 2002
New safety association formed for the construction industry. -
BC ONE CALL makes it easy to 'call before you dig' (PDF 110 KB)
August 2002
Many workers and contractors are unaware of the consequences of damaging buried facilities such as pipelines, telecommunications cables, water and sewage lines and electrical wires. -
Installing roof anchors during construction makes window washing less perilous (PDF 100 KB)
July 2002
This month's article talks about having suitable anchorage available for window washers. -
Skills Canada competition brings more attention to careers in health and safety (PDF 105 KB)
June 2002
The BC Skills Competition held each year at BC Place Stadium, not only showcases the talent of the competitors but allows for an invaluable exchange of ideas between competitors, industry representatives and educators. -
New WCB online registration service available, Accident alert issued on preventing caught-in-machinery accidents (PDF 29 KB)
May 2002
This month's article talks about the new online registration service and a recent accident alert issued to help prevent crushing and caught-in-machinery accidents. - When would a WCB officer visit your site (PDF 18 KB)
April 2002
There are several reasons why a WCB officer might arrive at your site. We prefer to visit construction sites when the principal contractor has filed a Notice of Project with the board. Our officers try to get on site as early as possible in the project to give you a brief outline of what is expected so there are no surprises in future visits. - When WCB officers arrive at your site (PDF 18 KB)
March 2002
When WorkSafeBC Prevention officers turn up at your work site, they are there to ensure a safe and healthy workplace by providing education and consultation as well as checking for compliance with the Workers Compensation Act and the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation. - Notice of Accidents by E-mail Can Help Prevent Injuries (PDF 24 KB)
February 2002INJURY TYPE: FALL -- FATAL Worker, along with portions of a scaffold, fell 39 feet to grade and received massive head injuries. INJURY TYPE: STRUCK BY -- FATAL (YOUNG WORKER) The worker was assisting to secure the first tier of pipe racks on a trailer. The loader struck the worker with the second lift of pipe racks, knocking the worker down. One pipe rack fell off the loader's forks landing on the worker. In a recent column, I mentioned a new feature on our injury prevention website (http://www2.worksafebc.com) -- the Notice of Accident (NOA) updates available by e-mail subscription. This initiative is designed to provide employers and workers with timely information about the types of accidents occurring in the construction industry.
- Notice of Accidents Now Available by E-mail (PDF 21 KB)
January 2002
To provide employers and workers with timely information about the types of accidents occurring in the construction industry, WorkSafeBC will now offer regular updates by e-mail of Notices of Accidents (NOA) received by the Prevention Division.These reports may help you prevent similar accidents in your workplace. An NOA is a preliminary report of an accident before an investigation into the case has been completed. To sign up for these updates please send an email to with the words "subscribe NOA" in the subject line, or, if you have already subscribed to receive construction email you will be receiving them.
- 2001 Articles
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