Permits
Annual State of Safety 2023
Permits
We issue installation and operating permits to contractors and asset owners to promote work being done correctly and to connect them to the safety system. The data collected helps us track where regulated work is being done and by whom, leading to improved insights and safety outcomes in the BC safety system. This repository of data makes for a stronger safety system as risks and trends are shared with the appropriate asset owners so that they can foresee any hazards tied to their equipment or systems.
Installation Permits
In 2023, a total of 143,673 installation permits were issued, an 8% decrease compared to 2022.
Gas and electrical technologies saw a decrease in installation permits by 11% and 6%, respectively. The decrease may have been due to economic factors like high interest rates and increased cost of borrowing. This may have reduced housing starts and delayed renovation projects which affected the number of installation permits needed.
Other technologies experienced an overall increase of installation permits in 2023. There was a 3% increase in installation permits for the boilers, pressure vessels, and refrigeration technology. Elevating devices experienced a growth of 18%.
Most notably, the Amusement Devices technology experienced a year-over-year growth of 170% compared to 2022. This may be accredited to the continued re-opening and growth in the amusement industry as businesses continue to recover economically.
Operating Permits
There were 116,369 active operating permits in 2023, an increase of 3% compared to 2022.
The largest increases of operating permits in 2023 compared to the previous year can be seen in the amusement devices (15% increase) and electrical (8% increase) technologies. The increase in the amusement devices technology was due to the continued re-opening of many businesses in this industry post-pandemic.