The case for continual workplace improvement

At 19, I worked in a grain elevator in southern British Columbia. It was one of my first jobs, and keen to make a good impression, I took the tasks seriously. As a young worker, I was hesitant to ask questions.

One day, my manager called me over, along with another young worker, and handed each of us a snow shovel and a paper dust mask. “Go to the basement and fill the grain leg with the mounds of grain, until the room is cleared,” he said, and off we went.

I look back today and think about all the things that could have gone wrong. It was like working on a skating rink. We had only one radio, and the dust hazard was very high, with the potential for a multitude of injuries.

Today, we work to improve workplace safety through education. We have learned more and know more. Since then, our understanding of workplace hazards has advanced significantly.

Technology has advanced, and more safety regulations are in place. However, as I speak with our manufacturing members, many of those same hazards still exist, and changes to operations and machinery have introduced new risks.

Safety is about staying curious

In 2012, two dust-fuelled explosions hit sawmills in British Columbia’s northern Interior months apart. The community was shocked, the sawmill industry changed overnight, and WorkSafeBC rushed to investigate.

What’s one thing those businesses could have done differently?

By asking questions and talking to employees about the conditions and environments in which they worked, those companies might have been able to adapt and implement new housekeeping standards to reduce the risk.

Our employees, the ones doing the work day-to-day, are often the first to notice when things are wrong. Workers should be the first to challenge us on established practices and existing processes, especially when they no longer serve the goals and intentions within a workplace.

A new regulatory environment with the same challenges

British Columbia is approaching new dust hazard regulations that will take effect in January 2027. Will these help make workplaces safer? Absolutely. But for owners and leaders of manufacturing facilities, their duty is to streamline production while protecting their teams. Meeting regulatory requirements is only the start.

Many businesses maintain compliance. They have fulfilled their legal duty to protect their employees. However, as the world evolves around us, with new technological advances, changing expectations and shifting working conditions, the bar is rising.

Equipment that was state-of-the-art 30 to 50 years ago may now be on the verge of retirement. Regulatory compliance does not always reflect changes that impact the work environment. It’s therefore critical to invest in learning.

This may mean learning from our successes and failures as we audit our safety management system. We can no longer leave risk assessments and safe work procedures in a binder on the shelf. Through continuous improvement, we need to review and update our systems annually as our businesses change and evolve.

Or it may mean learning new models, such as employing a system like 5S to reduce slips, trips and falls.

We improve by encouraging the people we lead to ask questions, equipping them to find solutions and adapt, and building a practice of ongoing improvement.