A model for Ontario
By Cathy Dobson, The Observer
The safety record of Sarnia’s construction workers isn’t just good, it’s 25 times better than the provincial average, a new study shows.
“This is truly remarkable,” says John Barnfield, general manager at the Sarnia-Lambton Industrial Educational Co-operative (IEC). “We thought it might be four or five times safer but 25 times is dramatically safer.”
When it became obvious that Sarnia-Lambton was accomplishing something unique, his organization was given $100,000 by the WSIB (Workplace Safety Insurance Board) to collect data and determine why such high safety standards are being achieved.
“It was clear we were doing something special and the WSIB wanted to know what,” said Barnfield.
The study examined lost-time injuries, as well as recordable injuries that require medical attention but no time off .
Contractor safety data was also gathered from the local plants for 10 years beginning in 1998.
For example, in 2007 the injury rate for Sarnia-Lambton’s 5,000 construction workers was .8 per 200,000 hours work.
That compared to an average of 20 per 200,000 hours work in Ontario.
“Even 10 years ago, Sarnia- Lambton was deemed to be better than the provincial average,” said Barnfield.
Researchers knew the local and provincial building trades each improved their safety records dramatically over the decade. What they didn’t realize was Sarnia-Lambton saw much better improvement than other regions.
Once the Construction Safety Association of Ontario verified the numbers, the researchers began looking for reasons and came up with three significant ones:
* a financial investment in safety training and development for supervisors;
* unique best practices, such as pre-job safety analyses; and
* a partnership established among big industrial players, contractors and local building trades to cut down on workplace accidents;
Barnfield believes that partnership is key because it ensures “everyone buys into safety. They own it so they practice it,” he said.
Most centres rely on the WSIB or Safe Work Association to deliver safety programs, but Sarnia-Lambton has created its own solution.
The WSIB has now approved another $100,000 to launch a third phase of the study, which involves replicating Sarnia- Lambton’s results in other parts of Ontario.
The first test region is Nanticoke where heavy industry, including Imperial Oil, a power generating station and U. S. Steel are located.
With the support of the Sarnia- Lambton IEC, another training centre is being established that will initiate similar practices.
“Nanticoke was chosen because they are willing to do it. They want to improve their safety record,” Barnfield said. “That’s the first step.”
Observer Article ID# 1635550
Posted in: Headlines