Technical Safety BC Releases its new State of Safety 2018 Providing Key Insights into Technical Safety Risks in the Province

June 19, 2019

Safety regulator Technical Safety BC has released its annual State of Safety report, which provides a snapshot of technical safety in the province, along with the organization’s achievements and impact over 2018.

The fully digital report provides a variety of interactive charts that invite users to explore the data that has been shared, as well as links to stories that showcase the work we have done over the last year to improve safety in the province.

“Our safety data enables us to identify trends in existing and emerging risks, and helps us build regulatory and programmatic approaches that focus on the biggest risks to people,” explains President and CEO Catherine Roome. “We want to share our data proactively and highlight how things are changing in order to help companies, contractors and the public make better safety-minded decisions.”

Here are some of the highlights from 2018 detailed in the report:

• 558 incidents reported to Technical Safety BC – up 17% over 2017, reflecting more awareness among the public and contractor community about our role and the importance of reporting.
• Located the highest number of hazards in the province’s history – indicating improvements in our ability to find risks.
• 51,292 physical assessments (inspections) of equipment.
•  545 compliance & enforcement actions undertaken by Technical Safety BC to address unsafe work and/or individuals and companies working without the proper permits or certifications.
•  72 investigations into incidents completed to understand root causes and assist prevention efforts.

The State of Safety also profiles key initiatives Technical Safety BC undertook in 2018, including efforts to raise awareness around ammonia refrigeration systems and carbon monoxide exposure, and using fault tree studies to identify the causes of incidents the organization sees most frequently.

You can view the full report HERE