VICTORIA - Earlier this year, two tragic sawmill explosions in northern British Columbia placed a spotlight on the importance of sawmill safety.

Here are some of the major actions taken since these incidents to improve safety in the sector.

Combustible Dust Strategy:

• A directive order was issued to all mills on April 26, to reduce dust to a level of one-eighth of an inch over no more than five per cent of all surfaces in the operation.
•  The directive order gave authority for WorkSafeBC to inspect and review the operations within 90 days.
• Since the directive order was issued, WorkSafeBC has been diligent in following up with employers to make sure they are either in compliance or coming into compliance with the directive order concerning accumulation of wood dust.
• If a WorkSafeBC officer observes accumulations in excess of the allowed limit, the employer will be ordered to clean up the situation immediately.
• By regulation, action in such a circumstance can range from the issuing of a compliance order to the shutdown of the affected area to a shutdown of the entire mill.
• Prevention officers are constantly out in the field, conducting and following up on inspections, writing compliance orders as required, and engaging in consultation and education where necessary.
• Information on inspections and orders are updated on a regular basis and posted to the WorkSafeBC website.

Joint efforts:

• On May 2, 2012, a joint communiqué was released by B.C.'s major forest companies and associations regarding mill safety.
• The companies established a task force to investigate combustion risks and create an industry-wide standard to provide independent assurance of mill safety.
• The task force was also responsible for encouraging the involvement and contributions of employee groups and union leadership toward enhancing sawmill safety.

 Fire Inspection and Prevention Initiative (FIPI):

•  On Oct. 31, the creation of the Fire Inspection and Prevention Initiative (FIPI) was announced.
• The office will be funded by a one-million dollar investment over two years, coming from WorkSafeBC. It will focus on fire inspection and prevention with the goal of increasing the protection of workers from occupational fire hazards.
• Currently, building owners and employers are responsible for fire code compliance, but in the interests of long-term safety for workers, high-risk facility owners will now be required to provide proof of Fire Code inspections and compliance which may be conducted by a Fire Code consultant, fire protection engineer or fire protection technician.
• This proof can be requested by a number of agencies:
• In the course of regularly scheduled and/or targeted inspections, WorkSafeBC can request documentation related to fire code compliance.
• The BC Safety Authority (BCSA) will request documentation of fire code compliance when performing on-site inspections of regulated equipment installation.
• Documentation of inspections and fire code compliance can also be requested by representatives from the Office of the Fire Commissioner (OFC), the local authority, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC) and other regulatory agencies.
• Government expects these improved fire inspection and prevention efforts will improve health and safety for workers in all industries in British Columbia and provide more clarity on the accountability that industrial owners and operators have to meet BC Fire Code standards.