Today’s Virtual Breakfast Forum was very well attended by Members and guests alike.  Rod Bianchini, Chief Strategy & Compliance Officer with Skilled Trades BC (formerly Industry Training Authority) shared a compelling presentation unveiling their expanded role in advancing BC’s skilled trades system, and implementing Skilled Trades Certification.

Skilled Trades BC works with 40 training providers across the province, supports over 40,000 apprentices and has over 10,000 employer sponsors.

BC is the only province in Canada that doesn’t have compulsory trade certifications. However, in June 2022 the Government of BC announced that there will now be a mandatory Certification Program that will be administered by Skilled Trades BC. The Skilled Trades Certification program will be phased-in to high-demand industries such as Electrical, Mechanical and Automotive, and will target 10 trades within these industries. A great deal of industry consultation was done prior to implementation of the new system.

Rod shared an interesting statistic: for every 8.9 job seekers there are 10 job vacancies, and it’s expected that the increase in jobs will continue to outpace workers. There are 85,000 workers needed over the next 10 years to meet the supply gap. What is the solution? An increased labour force, a reduction in attrition or increased automation.  Skilled Trades BC is working with Immigration and BCIT to attract more workers and to educate new workers on the benefits of a career in Trades.

This presentation was recorded and EHSCBC Members can review it if they were unable to attend the forum.

A reminder of our next Virtual Breakfast Forum which will be a General Forum, is on Thursday February 9^th.

On February 16^th, we have our first in person site tour at CKF.  Space is limited, please register at this link.

Rod’s presentation link can be downloaded at this link.

 

 

 

 

On today’s Virtual Breakfast Forum, attendees welcomed a few of the EHSCBC’s newest members and enjoyed a general forum discussion to get to know each other and discuss current issues. Members shared their health and safety philosophies, and what’s important in their own organizations.

We talked about the Council’s accomplishments in 2022 which included the 1^st annual visit to Kelowna, the 19 well attended Virtual breakfast forums and the October Round Table where over 50 members and guest attended and spent the day discussing how to better build strong safety cultures in their organizations.

On Wednesday, there was a Board of Directors meeting, preceeded by a site tour of Shearwater Research, Jim Hartt’s organization, where they manufacture dive computers (watches). This fascinating tour was guided by Jim’s Health and Safety Committee, a passionate group of employees who walked us through all stages of their manufacturing process. This tour kicked off our plans to incorporate more site tours into our 2023programming.

With that in mind, the dates for events in the first quarter of 2023 were revealed:

Virtual Breakfast Forums on January 12^th, 26^th, February 9^th, March 9^th  and a site tour of CKF on February 16^th.  We also plan to hold group gatherings in Kelowna and Victoria during the year, and our annual Round Table in October of 2023.

George shared a few points for members to bear in mind over the holiday break. We should all remember the right to disconnect; even though it’s not a policy in Vancouver yet, it’s becoming more prevalent. Additionally, the concept of a four day work week – studies are coming out about how this has been working and whether or not it is beneficial. We will have a robust discussion around that in the new year. And finally, George asked the group to share a book that they’re reading that “drives” them. We’ll compile a list of books that have been effective for leadership education and motivation.

Let’s all remember that over the holidays, we’ll be gathering in groups more often, and many of us will be traveling. Don’t drink and drive, but do have a safe and healthy holiday season. See you in the new year!

 

 

 

 

 

 

At today’s Virtual Breakfast meeting we were joined by Eric Berg Partner, Cyber Security & Owen Key, Director, Cyber Security & National Lead for IOT Cybersecurity, both from KPMG.  Eric and Owen presented on a very thought provoking topic: Operational Technology Cyber Security.

Eric shared a very interesting statistic, where the average cost of an Operational Technology cyber attack costs $3million. Results of these cyber attacks include catastrophic failure or major disruptions to facilities, impacting health and safety of workers and the public, damaging the organization’s reputation and causing severe financial implications. Eric and Owen shared that the biggest risk of breaching security is email, but also are insider threats: a former, disgruntled employee, or workers being paid off to compromise their internal accounts (those individuals having access to the confidential information).

Executives/Directors role in enabling cyber security:

Understand – have a clear view of key cyber risks and issues facing the business, and organizations’ ability to safeguard against threats.

Guide – support management in their cyber risk, management activities and enable alignment with the overall business strategy.

Act – take action to build a strong culture of cyber security, champion cyber training and provide corporate cyber governance.

Ask the right questions of your organization:

Prevent – do you have a cyber program that aligns with your unique business needs, and protects your “crown jewels”?  How are you balancing cyber risks with other compliance priorities?

Improve – how are you building security into your business so that it is seamless for your users? Have you considered how you can improve existing programs and processes?

Detect – how confident are you that threats will be detected, and incidents managed effectively? Do you have enough visibility and an understanding of changing risks?

Respond – What would you do if you were hit with a cyber attack – do you feel confident in your current processes? Is your business cyber resilient? Can it sustain itself through a major cyber attack?

A big thanks to Eric and Owen for shedding some light on this provocative topic.

A reminder of our next VBF, on Thursday, November 17^th, with a presentation by WorkSafe BC.

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you to all of our members who attended today’s Virtual Breakfast Forum. Today’s topic for discussion was Cell Phones, and their use when performing work tasks.

There are two different ways that workers can use their cell phones: 1) listening to podcasts or music with earbuds or headphones, 2) actively talking on the phone, watching a video or texting.

Many manufacturing jobs can be repetitive.  Listening to music or a podcast helps workers pass the time while completing these tasks. The problem is when having earbuds in they can cancel out other sounds and create dangerous situations and serious consequences, such as not hearing an alarm or direction from a supervisor. It’s important that all workers are always aware of their surroundings.

Members discussed that some organizations have strict policies around the use of cell phones, prohibiting any use of them when on the shop floor, and some have more flexible codes of conduct.

Many organizations mandate workers to leave the production area if they need to take a call or return a text. Others prohibit the use of phones while walking through a yard to ensure that everyone is actively monitoring their safety.  Forklift operators should be forbidden to use cell phones or listen to music with earbuds, but can use earplugs for hearing protection.

The use of boom boxes or radios are preferred in some cases, as the volume can be controlled, and other sounds can be detected.  Installing strobe lighting as a visual cue for alarms is another way to ensure workers are alerted to issues in the facility.

Members were encouraged to complete regular fire drills in their facilities, which can help expose earbud usage being an issue. Managers can watch the drill with the intent to notice if there are any safety concerns. This could be a great way to call attention to this issue with staff who push back on these policies, when able to prove that using earbuds prevented swift attention to a dangerous situation.

 

Registration for the Round Table is now open. Please register as soon as possible, and all members are encouraged to bring a guest.

 

 

 

 

Kate Baillie – Technical Safety in an uncertain world

On today’s Virtual Breakfast Forum, members heard a presentation from Kate Baillie of Technical Safety BC, entitled “Technical Safety in an Uncertain World”.

Kate shared that each of us interact with the systems Technical Safety BC is concerned with on a daily basis, such as electrical equipment, natural gas and propane appliances, elevators, escalators and railways to name a few.  Safety is a shared responsibility. We rely on people with different skills within the safety system to help keep people safe.

Every year, Technical Safety BC publishes a report that provides key stats on incidents. Proper maintenance, inspection and log books are really important. When safety systems are built, they are built within a context of a site. The site around the safety system might change, which could make the system itself more dangerous.

Preparation matters – how you come back from disasters is directly related to how you prepare for them. Never assume you’re immune to these disasters. Build a safety plan, and before you reenergize anything (gas/electrical/boilers) have someone skilled to look at them to ensure their integrity. Incidents result in a lot more downtime if you wait to repair something, causing the company more money.

Wear and tear should be addressed in a proactive manner. Over time, larger systems that surround technical systems can undergo changes or alterations that make the technical system itself unsafe.

The safety system is vulnerable to pressures that influence other kinds of business decision making. Skilled, knowledgeable people are at the heart of safety minded decision making. It’s people that make decisions about technical equipment that cause harm. It’s having the right people in the right positions that can make the difference.

The presentation slide deck can be downloaded here.

The presentation was recorded for members to review at a later date.

 

 

A  reminder of future events:

Oct. 6^th, our annual Round Table takes place.