A compelling firsthand experience

Doug Hutton recounted his Oct 28, 1976, incident and the physical, mental, and financial aftermath. Doug was working on a live panel board, replacing breakers, and an arc flash occurred.  He was the victim of a huge electrical shock and burn, and was admitted to the Burn Unit at VGH with 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd degree burns.

It was a year plus road to recovery, with many physical and mental hurdles.  Fortunately, Doug recovered after many surgeries and procedures.  It helped that he was a non-smoker as smoking slows healing and delays tissue repair.  Doug was on time-loss for 1.5 years, affecting the financials of the company he worked for as those costs were charged against the company.

After more similar accidents occurred, WCB changed the regulations.  Burn matts, arc flash gear and strict protocols around live equipment are now required.

Doug retired in 2010 from Bridge Electric, but recently returned as a part-time Safety Coordinator.  He has a strong interest in safety, and he understands the perspectives of both the company and the individual when accident happens.  He also shares his story with other accident victims, schools, hospitals and companies in order to provide awareness. 

Thank you, Doug!

Following Doug’s presentation, Michael Roberts provided an update on upcoming WorkSafeBC changes.  It is undergoing a restructuring and there may be some random inspections coming with respect to bullying and harassment.

Abraham von Poortvliet provided an update recounting that accidents have decreased due to employing training and certifications.  Companies need to be responsible for safety.  It is beneficial to have both WCB inspections and holding companies accountable.

The next Council meeting will be on February 15^th, with a presentation from Cassels Law.

Today’s Virtual Breakfast forum was an intimate group, and a great discussion on what’s been happening in our member leaders’ organizations.

Gary Herman shared his personal experience with “Movember”, and is currently fundraising for the cause.  Men’s health should be monitored regularly.  If you see any of your employees growing a mustache, it is a good opportunity to open up a dialogue, and get to know them a little more.  Please consider donating to Gary’s link https://ca.movember.com/mospace/14613055

Members are finding that there has been a sharp increase in the use of sick days recently. It’s unclear if it’s COVID, but these absences make it challenging to get production done. Employees taking COVID booster and flu shots are finding they are being knocked out for a few days as well. Members find that the majority of the days requested sick seem to be Monday / Tuesday after a weekend.

As many of you are hyper focussed on safety programs for Employees, for some organizations, it’s important to also have a safety program that considers outside contractors needing to perform work IN or ON  your organization. One example is that with an old facility housing the organization, repairs need to be done on it. This organization has since developed a more robust contractor safety program so that contractors also have the right procedures in place to work safely on their site.  

Additionally,  a few members reported that they have an influx of new workers, while certified in their skill, they are not used to the way their new organizations do business. There is a higher risk of safety incidents from people’s differing perception of safety culture. The challenge is to make sure that the new workers are quickly brought up to speed on the safety culture.

One member shared the struggles with staffing being that they are a Multinational organization, with workers needing to travel overseas for family reasons. Several of these workers have gotten stuck abroad, some indefinitely, due to flight cancellations and political issues.

Technical Safety BC has a program where they are looking for leaders to support the projects they are working on, by looking for feedback. Sign up or send someone from your teams to join. Learn more at Engage.technicalsafetybc.ca

45% of membership responded to our recent membership survey. The results were that 70% would like to have Virtual Breakfast Forums monthly, rather than bi monthly. Starting January we will have alternating speakers & general forums, as well as some site tours & casual wing night evening events.

3 more events coming up to round out the year:

Nov 23^rd – 2 members speaking Mark Bunz, speaking on Business Continuity,  & Dann Konkin re Emergency Preparedness, particularly in cyber security breaches.

Dec 7^th  – we will hear from the Employers Advisors Group, who are in existence to help employers navigate WorkSafe BC

Nov. 28^th – This Tuesday evening we’re having a “Wing Night”, gathering in person to give us a chance to get to know each other a little better. Location to be advised.