Industry Performance
Industry Performance
Injuries, fatalities, and prevention
initiatives
Whenever Ontario construction picks up and employment rises, the industry's injury frequency tends to increase.
Unfortunately that was the case in 1998, the last year for which complete injury statistics are available. Construction fatalities, on the other hand, declined from 24 in 1998 to 20 in 1999.
Further action by the industry's prevention partners -- labour, management, government --will be necessary to reduce injuries and fatalities significantly.
Injuries
Figures for 1998 show a drop in lost-time injuries but a rise in medical aid injuries. This contributed in turn to an increase in the all-injury frequency --from 39.5 in 1997 to 41.8 in 1998.
Historically this has been a familiar pattern in Ontario construction. As the workforce rapidly increases and people enter the industry with little or no training, injury frequency climbs. The trend will likely continue while construction volumes grow. The general decline in injuries since 1965 will resume once the workforce stabilizes.
Ontario can be proud of its construction safety record compared to other provinces. Our lost-time injury rate is less than half the national average.
Graph 1: Percent Change in All-Injury
Frequency since 1965
Graph 1: Percent Change in All-Injury Frequency since 1965
Fatalities
Each year the Ministry of Labour tabulates fatalities in Ontario construction. CSAO relates the number of construction deaths for the year with the size of the construction workforce as estimated by Statistics Canada. This yields the fatality rate per 100,000 workers -- a measure that stays constant regardless of changes in workforce size.
Graph 2: Analysis of Fatalities in 1999
Graph 2 shows the distribution of the 20 construction deaths
recorded in 1999.
These 20 fatalities yield a fatality rate of 6.7. That's lower than the fatality rate of 8.4 in 1998, but hardly an improvement. Making a significant difference will require increased commitment to new as well as ongoing prevention efforts.
New
With its industry partners, CSAO launched new initiatives in five areas during 1999.
Traffic control -- The industry's network of labour-management health and safety committees, with CSAO technical support, helped the Ministry of Transportation revise the traffic control regulations. Changes are reflected in the new manuals being developed by the Ministry. These measures should substantially improve safety in highway construction zones across Ontario.
Fall protection -- Although the industry considered some of the Ministry of Labour (MOL) proposals impractical, there was widespread support for the decision to proceed with mandatory fall protection training for all construction workers. As this training is implemented, CSAO will play a major role in helping to reduce falls -- historically the major cause of construction deaths.
Entry-level training -- CSAO presented a brief to the MOL and Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) spelling out the advantages of health and safety training for everyone entering the industry. Such training would help to eliminate the increases in injury frequency that occur during boom periods. In 1998, for instance, the 18,000 workers entering the industry were largely untrained and would have benefited from entry-level instruction.
Reaching small contractors -- In 1999, CSAO made inroads among the small employers who comprise more than two thirds of the industry and incur a disproportionate number of injuries and deaths. Together the MOL, WSIB, and CSAO developed an information package for small contractors and a coordinated plan to identify firms requiring priority attention, make contact, and follow up. This new level of cooperation and service will benefit Ontario construction generally and small contractors in particular.
Safety groups -- In 1999, four construction associations formed safety groups. Under the WSIB plan, participating companies work together to improve accident prevention. Rebates on WSIB premiums provide an incentive for individual as well as group improvement. CSAO is actively promoting safety groups. More groups are on the way as contractors look for better methods to improve health and safety performance and maximize rebates from the WSIB.
Ongoing
Throughout 1999, CSAO delivered a broad range of consulting and educational services to construction workers, apprentices, union locals, trade schools, specific sites, individual contractors, and contractor associations. CSAO training reached more than 34,000 construction people in 1999.
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Among selected priority firms -- those with two or more injuries in 1998, a negative frequency index under experience rating, and more than seven fulltime workers -- CSAO reduced injury frequency by more than 50%.
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In 1999 the industry's network of labour-management committees discussed and resolved health and safety issues at provincial, regional, and trade levels. Committee agendas included
- regulation review
- traffic control
- training for contractors working in automotive plants
- guidelines for guardrail posts
- propane refuelling
- mandatory entry-level training.
To investigate these and other subjects, CSAO provided technical support in the form of research, presentations, reports, articles, statistical data, and publications.
In addition, training programs were created or revised to meet industry demand and legislated requirements. Three programs were especially significant.
Basics of Supervising -- A home-study version of CSAO's three-day classroom program now enables crew-level supervisors to work through the information in their own homes at their own pace.
ICI Program -- The four computer-based training modules originally produced for homebuilders were redone for the ICI sector. Using digital formats is another step forward in delivering training to more of the industry.
Construction Health and Safety Representative Program -- The new training package focuses primarily on the skills necessary to function as a representative rather than details of specific hazards. The result is a more meaningful program for the industry.
