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Between the years 2000 and 2008, 28 out of 32 cases of
fall related injuries were due to a lack of hazard
identification as identified by investigators of
WorkSafeBC. These fall-related accidents ended with
serious injuries and in some cases, death. Most of the
'fallers' in these cases were lacking in site-specific
training.
"On a positive note, no fallers certified through the BC
Faller Training Standard (BCFTS) certification process
died on the job between 2006 and 2007, the document
points out. Before this period, there were 26 faller
fatalities between 2000 and 2005 and another seven in
2008. Although the fallers killed last year were
well-experienced, the report says, “the investigations
of these incidents in every case, but one, showed that
inadequate procedures were being used instead of the
BCFTS best practices, and those deficiencies led
directly to the fatal results.”
"Consider that in half of the 32
accidents, the supervisor was a working faller and spent
little time supervising another worker, and in 11 cases,
the supervisor lacked knowledge of safe falling
methods."
After these investigations were conducted, the team
issued some recommendations including a 'clear
definition of qualified faller supervisor'.
Employers in the tree falling operations in British
Columbia are not giving their employees site-specific
training regarding their work space. If you or your
employees are going to be working near or around fall
hazards, ensure safe practices are in place. In most
cases, general and site-specific training will be
required.
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Source:
OHS Canada
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