I don't know. Who's in charge here? I am. So can you tell me what happened?
I was on the other side of building, I really don't know.
Yeah, well it appears we have a problem here.
As an employer, are you aware of your responsibilities under the WCB Act?
I think so but there's a lot to know. But you allowed the circumstances in your
company to get to the stage where the supervisor allowed the man to go on
shift and go directly to work without checking his equipment.
Well we've grown quickly in the last couple of years and the supervisors are
responsible for the production quotas. They are very busy people. I thought that
they were carrying out the safety requirements. That's their job. I can't be everywhere at once.
So you thought that they were carrying out their jobs.
Do you realize that under the WCB Act you and your supervisors are responsible for the
safety of your employees? Yes but-- Are you aware that this accident occurred as a
result of lack of attention to safety in your company? Do you think that safety is
a job for someone else? Now listen here! Under the Act you are
responsible for the safety of your employees. Your supervisors are required
to carry out that responsibility on a day-to-day basis. They also can be prosecuted and fined.
After an accident there's an investigation and sometimes an inquest.
The players in the accident are brought in to testify at the inquest.
The owner is the one who has to answer. It's not very pleasant but the way the system
works if you have accidents you pay. Many employers, supervisors, and workers don't
seem to realize that the regulations are law. They're not just safety rules.
The WCB enforces these laws and individuals and companies must comply. There's no way around it.
Companies can be penalized for repeat
and serious violations of the regulations. If the infraction results in
immediate danger to workers, the inspector has the authority to close a
company on the spot. Inspections are carried out without warning and there is
no recourse except to operate your company in compliance.
It's easier to do it right than pay the consequences because the WCB is tough.
The WCB believes that compliance with regulations is good management and that
a safe firm is generally a well-managed firm. If you need help, the WCB inspector
and other personnel are there to work with you. They have the experience and
the programs to help keep you and your employees on the right track.
The key word here is help because it's up to each employer and every employee to keep the workplace safe.
It was the quad from the start that could move a single thing. I went from being
helpless to learning everything over again. How to eat, drink, sleep, roll over
in bed, and how to get up. Can you feel that when you suddenly get a spasm?
every movement hurts. it's been a year since Layton was electrocuted.
Life is a miracle. It is also painful.
We were moving houses, pulling a house down a road during the night in the fog.
My job was to ride on the roof of the house and make sure cable, telephone
lines don't snag on the roof. And I guess it being so foggy and nighttime, I got
hit in the head with 14,000 volts and it went through my spinal cord out through
all my limbs and it was quite a bit of nerve damage and tendon damage.
Progress is slow and frustrating, but Layton endures it because he wants to walk again.
Mel Camilli will never walk again.
He is in this wheelchair for the rest of his life. Both of his legs were amputated
at the hips because of an accident at his first job after high school.
You know it gets to you, it does get to you, you can't say it doesn't because it does get to you.
See and people going out and kicking a soccer ball, which is something I'll never do again,
running down the field to catch that
long touchdown pass. You know those are the sort of things I'm never ever gonna do again.
When you come into any job it doesn't matter what you're doing.
You're gonna be logging and you're gonna be working as a short-order cook in a restaurant, you know.
Take time to look around, check your workplace out,
make sure you know where everything is, how everything works, you know.
Know the people you're working with, whether you can depend on them or not,
and just always, always think safe.
The Workers Compensation Board processes an average of 200,000 claims a year in British Columbia.
And in this province, the employer is responsible for preventing accidents.
There are no excuses. You can say the supervisor didn't do his job,
you can say the employee was careless, but in the end
the employer is directly or indirectly responsible for worker safety.
In one case in Chicago, three principals of a company were charged with murder for
willfully or knowingly exposing workers to open vats of cyanide.
In the first action ever taken in Canada against a company official, a general manager in Quebec
was sentenced to 10 years for the death of an employee. These examples
are extreme, but they're real. And even though the laws are different in British Columbia,
an employer must be aware of his responsibilities. They're clearly set out
in the WCB Occupational Safety and Health Regulations.
These regulations are law and the Occupational Safety and Health Policy and Procedure Manual is an
employer's most dependable guide and information resource.
Luckily, most employers work hard to prevent accidents and to comply with the regulations.
For those who don't, the results can be unpleasant.
As an employer, you have tremendous responsibilities. You are expected to
provide a safe workplace, report serious accidents, and make sure your people
receive proper training. You must establish and enforce safety and health
policies and programs, you must act quickly to correct unsafe conditions.
First aid services have to be available at all times. You are expected to support
the activities of safety and health committees and to evaluate them periodically.
And the most important requirement of all: you are expected to set a good example for your employees.
The WCB expects a lot from supervisors. They are responsible for orientation and
training of workers, and they have to make sure safe work procedures are followed.
A supervisor is required to report accidents and take part in
investigations, make sure proper protective equipment is worn and regular
maintenance is carried out on the machines. They look for and correct
unsafe working practices or conditions. A supervisor has to look for hazards, deal
with troubled employees, update safety rules, ensure compliance with the
regulations, ask for suggestions, and above all set a good example.
Over 1 million workers in 400 industries are covered by Workers Compensation
Board in British Columbia. Every working day an average of 1.6 million dollars is
paid in benefits and almost 800 new claims are reported. You can work for the
safest company with the best supervisors and the most effective and efficient
safety committees, but if workers don't use this they can easily become another statistic.
Not only are everyone's actions on the job going to affect them personally,
they can possibly injure or kill fellow workers.
That's why you as a worker are required to know and comply with the
regulations and always work safely. If conditions are unsafe, report the
problems and have them corrected. Workers are also required to report injuries
and there is no excuse for working while impaired--none.
Workers are also expected to make suggestions to improve the safety of the
workplace and to make sure their fellow workers are acting and working safely.
All you have to do is witness one accident at work or suffer one yourself,
you will understand how much sense all these rules and regulations make.
It's the job of the supervisor to ensure workers are instructed, trained,
and qualified to work safely and in fact do work safely. The safety committee helps
by monitoring the workplace, advising management, and promoting safety.
But safety really depends on the attitudes and the work practices of the individual.
Some Workplace Accidents Have A Way Of Bringing Families Together.
Safety. Let's Work On It.