Achievements

COUNCIL OF CONSTRUCTION ASSOCIATIONS (COCA) REPORT and CONSTRUCTION SAFETY ASSOCIATION OF BC

2005 Annual Report (submitted February 7, 2006)

Grant McMillan, President, COCA; Chair, CSABC

The Council of Construction Associations (COCA) represents most of British Columbia's construction associations (19 in all) and acts on behalf of the construction industry in WCB matters. Our industry contributes about $150 million in assessments to the WCB, about 15% of WCB assessment revenue.

The Council is governed by a Board of Directors from the sponsoring associations, while the B.C. Construction Association provides administrative support. Ken Farey of Campbell Construction is the Chair of COCA. The Board members are listed at the end of this Report.

COCA worked with the Construction Industry to establish the Construction Safety Association of BC (CSABC).

CSABC has a mandate to reduce human suffering and capital costs associated with occupational injuries and diseases in construction. The focus of CSABC is on occupational health and safety and on claims management and safe, prompt return to work. The CSABC has its own Board of Directors who are listed at the back of this Report. Grant McMillan is the Chair of CSABC.

Activities

CSABC Initiatives -- New Programs to Reduce Human Suffering and WCB Costs

Major Initiatives Continue

The programs described in the 2004 CSABC Annual Report all continue, namely:
  1. Small Business Construction Centre
    The WCB has established a Small Business Construction Centre to assist contractors with reporting and getting information about WCB claims.

  2. Construction Claim Manager to Help with Claims
    Mike McKenna, a Client Services Manager in Compensation Services with the WCB continues to work with the Construction Industry. Mike has helped many contractors with their individual WCB issues.

  3. Dedicated Construction WCB Case Managers
    All WCB offices now have Case Managers who focus on construction industry claims. Grant McMillan and Mike McKenna meet with these staff in all WCB Regional offices. Follow-up visits to measure progress will take place in the coming year.

  4. Quality Affordable Safety Training
    The CSABC has organized affordable, standardized, and recognized training for owners/senior managers, supervisors, and workers. All training courses were selected or developed by a Technical Advisory Committee made up of construction industry leaders.

  5. Establishment of CSABC Website
    The website provides information of CSABC courses and initiatives, newsletters, accident reports, claims management advice and forms and safe work practices.

  6. CSABC Results
    The training has been well received. Over 1,000 participants have taken the Owner, Supervisor, Auditor and Claims Management/Disability Management courses. Over 1,000 workers have completed the Worker training. 103 companies have been certified with COR (98) within the WorkSafeBC definition of construction; 5 took it for the training benefit.

    $800,000 in WorkSafeBC rebates have been earned by these companies.

New Activities

  1. CSABC now partners with the WCB to offer a 5% rebate on WCB assessments for construction industry companies that complete the Certificate of Recognition (COR training. The program is fully described on the CSABC website (www.csabc.ca).

  2. The network of Providers has been expanded to cover all major centres in BC. This list is also contained on the CSABC website. The expanded list includes First Nations and School Districts.

  3. A Project Coordinator - Cathy Lange -- was retained on June 1 on a contract basis to improve service to contractors.

  4. CSABC now reimburses $450 to the company that completes COR - the cost of the fees for the training.

  5. Federal Bill C-45 provides creates a criminal offense for serious health and safety violations. Seminars and information sessions on Bill C-45 were presented in Vancouver, Victoria, Nanaimo, Prince George, Terrace, Williams Lake, Kelowna, and Kamloops. These sessions helped to encourage contractors to participate in CSABC programs as a means of establishing and proving Due Diligence.

  6. A generic Occupational Health and Safety Manual and Construction Manual with safe work procedures are available to those who take the CSABC Owner course and the Supervisor course. These two manuals provide a simple, consistent solution to developing and maintaining a current Occupational Health and Safety program and safe work procedures.
  7. The web site is improved with more and better information on courses and safety related material.

  8. The WCB has agreed to a request from CSABC to extend the deadline for completing the COR training program in order to earn a rebate on its 2004 assessments. The former deadline was October 31, 2005. The new deadline was December 31, 2005.

  9. CSABC has been actively working to expand the training of workers, especially young workers. The following school districts have or will soon use the Worker training program in their schools: Surrey, Richmond, North Delta, North Vancouver, Burnaby.


COCA Initiatives and Activities

Experience Rating Victory
COCA led a campaign to retain the special Experience Rating limits for the construction industry. COCA's position is that the variation from the base rate should be a maximum of 33.3% higher or 33.3% lower. Our industry has a transient work force, projects start and stop and workers move to many employers, perhaps taking injuries or vulnerabilities with them to new employers.

The WCB Board of Directors has agreed with COCA's position that Experience Rating limits for the Construction Industry should be capped at a maximum 33.3% surcharge and 33.3% discount.

The WCB has created the Construction Industry Experience Rating Program, effective January 1, 2006. It will have all of the components of the WCB's experience rating plan except that the maximum experience rating surcharges and discounts will be limited to 33.3%

As part of this Program, the WCB will identify firms in the Construction Sector with significantly higher than average claim costs. The Industry will work proactively with the WCB to improve health and safety in those firm's workplaces with a view to reducing their injury rate and claim costs. This process has already started with the activities of the Construction Safety Association of BC, which was created by COCA.

The WCB has stated that it expects firms to participate fully in "WCB initiatives and/or special programs which have the purpose of reducing the frequency and/or cost of work-related injuries, diseases, and deaths".

The WCB Assessment Department will evaluate the effectiveness of the Construction Industry Experience Rating Program and will report the results of the evaluation to the WCB Board of Directors no later than December 31, 2010.

COCA and CSABC welcome this decision and both are committed to work closely with the WCB to reduce injuries and diseases and to improve on safe, early and durable Return to Work.


New COCA Membership
The following construction associations have joined COCA: Greater Vancouver Home Builders' Association; Line Contractors' Association; Vancouver Island Floor Covering Association.

Improving Claims Management
The best and fastest way to respond to a WCB claim from one of your workers is to call the WCB and complete your Form 7 (Report of Injury) over the telephone. A special service has been set up for the Construction Industry. The WCB has a special phone number, set up in cooperation with COCA, for the Construction Industry. It is easy to use. You call TeleFile. They help you complete the Report of Injury over the phone. You save time and money.

Call TeleFile at 604-233-5353 within the Lower Mainland;

Call toll free 1-866-338-3888 for all other regions of BC

There has been a decrease of 18% from 2005 to 2006 in the base rate for General Construction.

Policy Comments
COCA responds to requests or comment on various WCB policy proposals, including: Average Earnings; Casual Employment; Employer's Report of Injury and Assessment Penalties Policy.

Tower Crane Committee
COCA sits on the WCB's Tower Crane Committee that is considering the issue of operator training.

Ongoing Relationship with WCB
COCA continues to bring forward industry issues that come from its member associations or from individual contractors.

Estimated savings for the Construction Industry since the start of COCA in 1993 now total over $246 million, including the $135 million estimated from legislative amendments, as described above. (This does not include the savings from such initiatives as preventing the 118 page Ergonomic Regulations.)

      Estimated COCA Saving 1992 to 2005
      Millions
      Scaffold
      $14
      Admin formula
      $60
      Fatal Benefit calc
      $42
      Interest calc
      $15
      Amendments current
      $15
      Amendment long term
      $100
      $246


COCA Board of Directors

BCCA
Wayne Fettback, Western Pacific Enterprises Ltd.
Jim Billey, Ledcor
Don McNiven, McNiven Masonry
Terry Brown, Greyback Construction

CLRA
Ken Farey, Campbell Construction
Mike Pelletier, Emil Anderson
Rob Sherlock, Western Industrial Contractors Ltd.

ECA
Hank Paquin, Sasco Systems Ltd.

BC COCTA
Don Schouten, Transwest Roofing

Ex Officio
Manley McLachlan, BCCA
Bob Morrison, CLRA
Grant McMillan, COCA


CSABC Board of Directors

BCCA
Don McNiven, McNiven Masonry Ltd
Don Schouten, Transwest Roofing Ltd.
Roger Pelletier, Lakewood Electric Limited
One vacant position

Home Builders (the CHBA has withdrawn from COCA)
Charles Cullins, Team Construction Management
Dom Piluso, Piluso Construction Lrd.
Jim Wallace, Durawall

CLRA
Mike Pelletier, Emil Anderson Construction Ltd.
Randy Mott, Mott Electric Ltd.
Rob Hill, Brymark Installations Group, Inc.

COCTA
Wayne Fettback Western Pacific Enterprises
Ross Rex, Ross Rex Industrial Painters

DIRECTORS-At-LARGE
Ken Morland , Sterling Crane
Mike Asselstine of IPC Maintenance which is a division of Kamtech.
Rob Marwood, Empire Masonry
Dan Lewis, Progressive Construction
Richard Verbeek, PCL
Jeff Lyth Intertech Construction Management

Chair
Grant McMillan

Ex Officio
Manley McLachlan, BCCA
Bob Morrison, CLRA

The Board is supported by a Technical Advisory Committee, headed by Dan Mott of Mott Electric. There are two sub-committeess - Curriculum, chaired by Don McNiven of McNiven Masonry and Marketing, chaired by Don Schouten of Transwest Roofing.

     

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