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IWA-Industry SAFER fund programs
gear up for action in near future

Around the union and management it is known as the “ half cent
fund.” More formally, the IWA-Forest Industry Safety and Health
Research and Education Fund, is now collecting money in its fifth year
of existence and is poised to do some positive things for workers in the
logging, silviculture, and lumber manufacturing sectors on the B.C.

Coast and Southern Interior.

IWA-CANADA members should be reminded that during 1988 contract
negotiations with the industry, union negotiators successfully bargained
for the fund which meant that the industry puts 1/2 cent per hour into a
pot for every hour worked by IWA members.

The collected money is being
administered by a 10 member
IWA-Forestry Industry SAFER
Council which has five representa-
tives from the IWA, four from and
management and an advisor. This
group is called the IWA-Industry
SAFER Council (Safety Advisory
Foundation for Education and
Research).

The IWA SAFER Council represen-
tatives are National first vice-presi-
dent Neil Menard, Local 1-80 safety
director Ross Davies, Local 1-417 safe-
ty director Tom Graham, Local 1-3567
safety director Peter Hayes and Local
1-71 safety director Bob Patterson.
Industry representatives are Darrell
Embly of Fletcher Challenge Canada,
Daryl Moraes of MacMillan Bloedel,
Bill Moore of W.D. Moore Logging and
Bob Sitter of International Forest
Products. The SAFER Council advisor
is Bert Hawrysh of the Council of
Forest Industries.

The SAFER Council mandate is “to
improve long term accident preven-
tion programs and to create safe and
healthy work environment in the for-
est products industry.” SAFER
intends to do this by funding various
education and research activities.

After the SAFER Council was estab-
lished by a Board of Directors in 1990,
it met several times to initiate pro-
grams and research projects.

All actions of the Council are taken
on a joint consensus bases.

“Everything we do in the SAFER
Council is done in conjunction with

the employers,” says Neil Menard.
“We want to kick-off the program with
the same type of joint commitment
that it took to get our Employee and
Family Assistance Program to where
it is today. In Occupational Health and
Safety we have to promote joint pro-
grams. The employers have to buy
into it even more than they have in the
past.”

Employers covered by the Master
Agreement on the B.C. Coast and
southern interior contribute to a Trust
Fund. At the end of June this year the
fund had over $480,000 saved up. It’s
1992 budget is set at over $390,000.

In 1991 the Council started up a
new information service to help out.
joint occupational health and safety
committees. Currently the Council
has hired the B.C. Research
Corporation to provide information
on occupational health and safety.
Staff at B.C. Research will provide
occupational health and safety com-
mittees with written responses to any
questions.

Under the guidance of the SAFER
Council the fund is being used to initi-
ate 3 important programs: A core
health and skills safety training pro-
gram, an ergonomics education and
awareness program, and a safety
skills upgrading program in the log-
ging industry.

In this issue the Lumberworker
examines, in brief, the ergonomics
education and awareness program,
and the core health and safety skills
program.

Ergonomics awareness set
as an early priority

Another early objective of the
SAFER program is to provide an
Ergonomics Awareness Training
Program in the workplace. As in the
Core Health and Safety Skills Training
Program there is a selection process
which will choose candidates from
labour and management who will then
undergo a 3 day intensive training
seminar on Ergonomics Awareness.

Ergonomics defined is the “applica-
tion of knowledge about human capa-
bilities and limitations to the design of
the workplace, tools, equipment,
process and jobs in order to maximize
efficiency, safety, productivity and
well being...”

In a shorter form, Ergonomics
means using scientific knowledge to
fit a job to a worker, not fit a worker
to the job. With the proper application
of Ergonomic principles, both the
employer and employees can benefit .

The Ergonomics program will be
instructed by two professional
Ergonomists, Judy Village and Julia
Rylands of the B.C. Research
Corporation. Both Ms. Village and Ms.
Rylands have ten years of practical
experience, applying ergonomics in
the workplace. They have also taught
the subject to equipment engineers,
designers and industrial personnel

and at universities and colleges.

Ms. Village has a long background
in applied forest industry ergonomics,
in both the sawmills and logging oper-
ations and is well known among IWA
locals in B.C.

Julia Rylands also has background
in work station issues, equipment
design, mental workload and the
effects of shiftwork. She has trained
people who have to conduct ergonom-
ic analyses of workplace and equip-
ment.

Both Ms. Village and Ms. Rylands
are recognized as well respected
instructors and promoters of
ergonomics.

Together they have developed a 3
day Ergonomics program for forestry
and logging and woods products man-
ufacturing.

According to Ms. Village after tak-
ing the course, the management and
labour candidates should be able to
go out to the mills and logging opera-
tions and identify problems that are
ergonomics related and developed
some solutions to these problems.

Successful graduates of the course
should also be ready to provide
ergonomics awareness training to oth-
ers in the industry and understand the
proper process of applying ergo-

Continued on page fifteen

oe é

and manufacturing sectors.

° Consultant John Savage will be instructing the courses for both the logging

Joint OH&S committee training
an important goal of program

One of the early projects that the
SAFER Council is embarking upon is
a Core Health and Safety Skills
Training Program. Scheduled to begin
instruction late this year or early next,
the purpose of this pilot program is to
train a group of trainers, from man-
agement and hourly employees, to
help joint occupational health and
safety conunittees be more effective.

The SAFER Council has hired
Labour and Human Resources
Consultant John Savage, who has over
20 years of experience with health
and safety issues to develop and put
on a program that will train people
who will act as resource people or
“trouble shooters” for occupational
health and safety committees. 4

A three day intensive course is
being arranged for 60 candidates from
management and labour. There will be
three courses put on for the manufac-
turing sector in Chilliwack, Kelowna
and Parksville and two logging cours-
es in the logging sector to be held in
Campbell River and Chilliwack.

As the issue goes to press a selec-
tion committee process is taking
place to choose the 60 candidates
who will go through the three day pro-

gram.

The pilot program instructed by Mr.
Savage will educate the participants
on basic safety requirements and the
proper roles and responsibilities of
safety committees, roles of workers
and management and the WCB.

The idea is to train the 60 individu-
als who will then be able to go out in
the field, in either the logging or man-
ufacturing sectors and assist joint
health and safety committee.

The trained instructors will also
learn skills in adult education tech-
niques to help them pass on knowl-
edge to safety committee members.

Brother Neil Menard, first vice-pres-
ident of IWA-CANADA, and a member
of the SAFER Council says both the
union and employers want known and
respected people to receive the train-
ing.

“Tt shouldn’t matter what you do or
whether or not you are from manage-
ment or labour,” says Brother Menard.
“People involved in this effort must
realize that it’s a joint program with a
joint commitment from both sides.”

That's exactly what Mr. Savage, the
course instructor says as well. To be
effective in safety everyone has to
work hard together.

At the end of the 3 day sessions,
those taking the course will be able to
go to operations and hopefully act as
facilitators to identify areas that need
to be improved safety wise and identi-
fy, with the joint committee, what
action(s) should be taken to improve
safety.

Mr. Savage says that those taking
the course need a good fundamental
understanding of health and safety
issues in their industries. He also says
that they must be comfortable work-
ing in a group atmosphere.

“It’s really important that the peo-
ple who partake in these sessions, and
go back to their operations be results
orientated,” says Savage. “There is a
real need to monitor their efforts to
ensure results.”

In all, there are 10 modules in the
course which cover 3 broad areas of
study: 1)Responsibilities (i.e. WCB,
employer and supervisor, employee);
2) Health and Safety Committees
(function and duties, effective organi-
zation, participation/ownership); 3)
Safety Programs (employee training,
accident statistics and records, pub-
licity and promotion, accident causa-
tion and investigation, workplace
inspections and hazard defection and
program audit).

All of the 10 modules will be taught
along with WCB regulations, and com-
monly accepted standards of perfor-
mance in that particular subject area.

The module instruction will tune up
the participants on the technical
knowledge aspects of running a good
health and safety program. But just as

Continued on page fifteen

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