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WCB and Petroleum Industry Training Service partner to increase safety for oil and gas workers
Supporting documents
- Backgrounder (PDF 83kb)
- Fact sheet(PDF 21kb)
Richmond, B.C., March 31, 2004 — The Workers' Compensation Board (WCB) and the Petroleum Industry Training Service (PITS) — the training and certification arm of the Canadian petroleum industry — today announced the launch of a new health and safety program aimed at reducing the frequency and severity of injuries in B.C.'s booming oil and gas sector. /p>
As part of the initiative, PITS, in collaboration with the WCB and petroleum industry trade associations, is offering a pilot Health and Safety Certificate of Recognition (COR) program, which is awarded to employers who have a health and safety program that meets approved audit standards. As well, WCB will provide employers with a 5 percent rebate on their WCB assessment rate after they complete and meet the COR program standards.
Speaking at the COR program launch in Fort St. John, WCB president and CEO David Anderson said, "This new initiative means that the oil and gas industry, which is one of the leading contributors to B.C.'s economy, will receive a financial incentive for enhanced health and safety programs. Employers and workers here will have greater access to PITS industry specific training materials through Northern Lights College."
"PITS is proud to be chosen as the certifying partner for the COR pilot program in B.C.," said Wayne Wetmore, chief operating officer of PITS. "As a non-profit organization built for the petroleum industry and directed by the petroleum industry, PITS is a natural partner for the WCB to bring this project to life."
In B.C., the injury rate in the petroleum industry has remained lower than the overall provincial rate; however, the severity of injuries and the costs and duration of WCB claims have been significantly higher. From 1998 to 2002, the WCB paid approximately $46 million in petroleum industry claims with over 119,000 productive workdays lost to the economy. During the same time, the average cost of a serious petroleum industry claim (including amputations, third degree burns, multiple fractures, and spinal or head injuries) was $103,000, with the average claim duration being 189 days, while the overall average provincial cost was $59,970 with a duration of 167 days.
In addition to partnering with PITS, the WCB is adding a field officer and an oil and gas specialist to its Fort St. John office to better serve the health and safety needs of the expanding oil and gas industry.
PITS has more than 40 years of experience and expertise in the delivery of world-class petroleum industry training courses. Incorporated as a non-profit organization in 1961, the Petroleum Industry Training Service (PITS) is directed by the Canadian petroleum industry to provide quality, leadership and service to the petroleum industry.
The WCB also actively participates in the Petroleum Industry's Drilling and Completions Committee and one of the goals of the committee is to address issues common to Alberta and B.C.'s petroleum industry and to harmonize provincial health and safety standards. There are now 23 industry recommended practices that are sanctioned, being revised, or currently under development.
Serving nearly two million workers and approximately 173,000 employers,
the Workers' Compensation Board of B.C. is a provincial statutory agency
governed by a Board of Directors. The WCB is committed to a safe and healthy
workplace, to providing return-to-work rehabilitation and legislated compensation
benefits to workers injured as a result of their employment, and to being
responsible, accountable, and financially sustainable.
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For more information please contact: |
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Gladys Johnsen |
Heather Oake |