A new stage  in the faller certification  program will start in January.  The annual renewal fee system for the province’s 3,600 certified fallers is being launched, and the BC Forest Safety Couincil will pilot a re-evaluation system that will assess the skills of fallers and provide them with an opportunity to raise certification levels at least once every three years.

In  2005,   43 forest workers, seven of them fallers, died while on the job. 

The tragic death of veteran faller Ted Gramlich in November of that year and the subsequent coroner’s inquest further highlighted the need for ongoing training and supervision to maintain safe work practices.

“We want to honour Ted and other fallers who have lost their lives by keeping all forest workers as safe as possible on the job,” says Bill Bolton, senior advisor with the Council’s Forest Worker Development program. “For two years, no certified fallers in BC have died while working in the woods, and this may be the most important legacy of the certification program and fallers like Ted Gramlich.”

In addition, from 2005 to 2006, serious injury claims among fallers declined 65%. Previously, these types of claims comprised 27% of all serious claims for the forest sector; in 2006, they comprised 14%. 

The approach to faller  certification renewal  will be  similar to that for driver’s licenses which requires renewal fees.  There will also be formal on-site re-evaluation of the work practices of certified fallers.

The re-evaluation will take place at least once every three years.  Fallers will have to pay $150 every year to renew their certifications.