BC Construction Safety Alliance Works to Keep Workers Safe
Concrete being pumped onto a structure
BRITISH COLUMBIA – A Certified Concrete Pump Operator (CCPO) Program launched four years ago has been a major success for the BC Construction Safety Alliance (BCCSA) and the industry in general.
“It represents a rare occurrence where industry is asking for more – and in this case any – regulation,” states Ammar Kavazovic, Director of Programs & Initiatives for the BCCSA, adding that initially launched as a voluntary certification program, WorkSafeBC has mandated CCPO certification effective the start of next year.
“The concrete pumping industry recognized a serious gap in that anyone could legally operate a concrete pump without any required level of training or certification. As expected, this has led to numerous significant incidents over the years, including fatalities, considering the complex nature of the equipment,” Kavazovic explains. “Our aim is to inform industry and certify as many concrete pump operators as possible by January 1, 2024. If you operate a concrete pump in BC, you must be certified come 2024 to continue working.”
A concrete pump truck on the job site
BCCSA is a not-for-profit health and safety as-sociation funded through WorkSafeBC via construction industry employer levies, and represents the over 52,000 construction employers in the province. It is the certifying partner for the Certificate of Recognition (COR®) program, and offers numerous Safety Training programs.
Kavazovic has been with the BCCSA since 2015, is the certification manager in the context of CCPO, and oversees the Technical High Angle Rope Rescue program (THARRP) and the Silica Control Tool, a web-based application which assist employers in managing risk associated to exposure to silica dust.
Concrete pump trucks are built with safety in mind
SiteReadyBC, is their online construction site orientation course, developed specifically for BC workers. It has become the standard site orien-tation course across the province, and is free to select high school and trades school attendees.
Silica Control Tool (SCT), their web-based silica exposure assessment Tool, was developed in con-junction with UBC and WorkSafeBC, and offers employers a cost and time effective alternative to site-level silica sampling and exposure analysis, which is required by the OHS Regulation.
BCCSA is the “certifying partner” for the COR® program in British Columbia. There is a “COR®” for each industry run by the respective Health and Safety Association for that sector, with BCCSA representing construction. Construction is the largest COR® program in the province. COR®’s success lies in that fact that it works and has been proven as such through a number of research studies conducted by UBC over the last five years, which showed that on average, employers with a COR® program are safer than those that do not hold COR® certification.
One of the keys to BCCSA’s success over the years is due to its ability to produce high-quality products and services quickly.
“Our strong relationships with both the regulator, as well as industry through our technical advisory committees, has earned BCCSA a level of trust that affords us a high level of cooperation and input from stakeholders in virtually all projects we take on,” Kavazovic states.
