In today’s Virtual Breakfast Forum, members and guests heard from Kate Baillie, VP Marketing and Communications at Technical Safety BC. Kate shared that they have launched their safety report called The State of Technical Safety in the province of BC 2022.

Kate began the presentation with a thought to consider, that 100% safety is neither feasible nor desirable: it would mean no one moves or has fun, it means that there are no changes in the world.

Risks evolve as equipment moves through its usable life. Bad things happen at the beginning and end of a piece of equipment’s life.  At the beginning, there is a risk of installation errors etc. and at the end of lifecycle, climate change, decisions made during the lifecycle and maintenance within changing context could affect its integrity and lead to incidents.

Extreme weather impacts technical equipment at an accelerated rate. High levels of humidity in the air can cause electrical malfunctioning. Extreme cold can result in ice buildup blocking gas vents, with exposure to carbon monoxide as a result.

Other risks include bad choices made by decision-makers, or struggling to find qualified people to do the work. Management personnel can change over the years, the historical information or knowledge leaving with them. Other incident risks include a lack of documentation, lack of care and understanding of the danger of the substance a person is working with. Even with qualified technicians, assumptions are sometimes made based on loose documentation.

Kate recommends to always hire experts, even if they’re only there to advise. Risk assessment is a skill and we need to make sure that we consider the future and possibility of future risks, not just in the moment.

Thank you Kate and Technical Safety for your presentation!  Our next forum will be on July 17, with a presentation from Ian Rood of UBSAFE on safeguarding.