2009 Forestry Fatalities Lowest in Quarter Century
By 250 News
Wednesday, February 03, 2010 03:58 AM
Prince George, B.C.- Last year, there were fewer deaths recorded in B.C.’s forest industry than had been recorded in the past quarter century. Four people lost their lives in forestry work (including hauling) in 2009, every other year there had been at least 10.
Reynold Hert, CEO of the B.C. Forest Safety Council says while four deaths are four too many, there is a change in how safety is becoming a key element in forestry culture “The conversation in forestry now is how can we do things better, how can we be safer? That was not a common conversation just 7 or 8 years ago.”
While it would be easy to say the numbers are down because of reduced activity, Hert says historically, there has never been a year where there was less than one death per 10 million cubic meters harvested. Last year, 47 million cubic meters were harvested.
He is also encouraged by the decline in serious injuries. In 2008 (the latest year for which stats are available) serious injuries were down 16%.
Still, Hert says one year’s data can be misleading, more important is the trend over the last few years, compared with the 22 fatality-per-year-average for the decade prior to 2004.
Hert says the certification process is making a difference, with 4,500 companies signed up for SAFE certification and 2,500 already receiving their certification. He says that means the basic safety programs have been uplifted to a new minimum standard, “There is a lot of hard work being done.”
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Posted by: acrider54 on February 3 2010 4:58 AM