The British Columbia Forest Safety Council (BCFSC) is the Health and Safety Association (HSA) for forest harvesting, sawmills and pellet manufacturing in British Columbia. The BCFSC works with forest sector employers, workers, unions, contractors and provincial government agencies to support industry in implementing changes necessary to eliminate fatalities and serious injuries in the forest sector.
History
Since 2004, BCFSC has been proudly serving BC's forestry industry as the dedicated health and safety association for BC forest workers and employers.
BCFSC was created as a not-for-profit society with an initial focus and tasks set out by the Forest Safety Task Force* from a 2004 report that outlined a comprehensive strategy to improve safety in the BC forest sector.
The values, beliefs and commitments that form the basis of the BCFSC and its work are set out in the Forest Safety Accord and are summarized by governance, funding and departments in the BCFSC Backgrounder.
Strategy
A vital component of our strategy is to support our belief that injury prevention is most effective when industry owns and leads change. We work closely with industry and stakeholders to take a knowledge-based approach to safety comprised of three elements:
- We collaborate with industry stakeholders to assess what is causing injuries and work-related deaths using injury statistics, incident investigations and industry feedback.
- We conduct research, gathering information through assessment contributing to develop industry best practices, training and safety management systems.
- We work with our stakeholders to advance the consistent application of safety solutions through education, advocacy and sharing health and safety information.
Constitution and Bylaws
BC Forest Safety Council Constitution and Bylaws (2017)
BCFSC is authorized to use the government of British Columbia’s Corporate Supply Arrangements (CSA).
The Forest Safety Task Force was established in July 2003 to develop an action plan to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries in the forest industry in British Columbia by 50% within three years. After initial deliberations, the Task Force agreed that in order to be successful, a more aggressive target was required. The action plan was developed from issues raised in the Terms of Reference and was dedicated to all the forestry workers who died or were seriously injured on the job in British Columbia and to their families, friends and colleagues.