Since January, when workplace compensation coverage became mandatory for farms, the number of injury claims from Alberta farm employees has nearly doubled.
In the first half of 2016, the WCB received 395 claims from Alberta farm employees, of which 356 were accepted. Compared to the numbers from 2015, this is a sharp increase with nearly double the amount of injury claims.
While these statistics show a sharp increase in reported farm injuries and fatalities, it actually indicates an improvement in participation rates among Alberta’s farm employees. Now that it is mandatory to do so, farm employees are now more active in reporting workplace injuries, allowing for more accurate statistics and better insight into managing safety processes through proper education and programming. This data will also support the implementation of regulations and standards specifically tailored to manage workplace safety on farms.
Although the government is developing regulations such as the employment standards, labour relations, and occupational health and safety components of the Enhanced Protection for Farm and Ranch Workers Act, we hope to see this industry begin to adopt QHSE/EHS software solutions to redefine and manage health and safety processes. With the detailed logic and technical capabilities to streamline safety processes across the spectrum of connected devices, iTrak allows organizations to manage every facet of their quality and safety processes, from hazard identification, performing inspections, workflows, and audits. CombiningQHSE/EHS processes with the power of mobile tablets and smartphones provides additional opportunities to encourage broad use, ensure compliance, and most importantly stay safe.
To read more on “Workplace compensation claims on farms jump sharply“ please go to: http://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/2016/09/27/farm-injury-claims-more-than-double-in-alberta/