Education and Awareness
Annual State of Safety 2023
Training and Education
We provide technical training and engagement programs to support our partners in the safety system, and to remove barriers to compliance.
Our course curricula are shaped by insights from our clients, safety officers, and incident investigations which help us identify education opportunities. We employ industry leaders to teach our courses so they can impart current knowledge of regulatory codes, safety best practices, and their experience to help clients identify potential hazards.
Responding to Client Needs Through Training
Our training programs are developed to meet the needs of clients, industry representatives, and British Columbians. Client feedback informs how we design, test, and improve our educational offerings in response to knowledge gaps or emerging areas of concern. We recognize that successful safety engagement must consider the diversity of our partners, so we strive for fair participation to ensure under-represented and excluded groups also have a voice.
In 2023, we continued to offer self-paced, online courses and online-blended formats to deliver education services to our clients, safety partners, and the public.
Additionally, we:
- Released a new electrical contractor guide. This provides new electrical contractors and Field Safety Representatives (FSRs) with key resources.
- Piloted the Great Start program at BCIT. This initiative provided an initial contact point between future certified individuals and TSBC, giving these students a better understanding of who we are and how they might interact with us in the future.
- Recorded education events across BC’s regions to share in our Learning Centre. The availability of this content will widen the accessibility of our learning events and resources to those who cannot always attend in-person.
- Hosted three Town Halls with training providers from gas, electrical, and elevating. Training providers were able to learn more about the program recognition process.
- Continued support for the delivery of the Ammonia Safety Awareness program via the online course developed as a part of this program.
- Developed the Responsible Person course for a new amusement device program. This will be a foundational course that individuals will take to quality for this new designation.
Ammonia Safety
Ammonia safety continues to be one of our top five safety risks and awareness about this hazard remains as one of our key initiatives. In 2023, we continued the delivery and promotion of the Ammonia Safety Awareness Program, with enrollment increasing to over 320 participants. We also completed an evaluation of the program, with results indicating its positive impact on industry.
This no-cost, specialized education and training program was developed and launched in collaboration with industry partners in 2021. It was designed to share best practices for maintaining ammonia refrigeration equipment and systems throughout their lifecycle.
It was designed to share best practices for maintaining ammonia refrigeration equipment and systems throughout their lifecycle. Based on feedback from industry clients, we began simplifying the program content to make the information more accessible and impactful.
Campaigns and Safety Engagement
Using incident data and risk assessments, we developed multiple public safety campaigns to raise awareness of the highest safety risks in BC. We shared preventative information about falls from chairlifts; unlicensed individuals performing gas and electrical work; extreme weather preparedness; and carbon monoxide exposure.
Our incident investigation findings and safety tips were shared in videos, visual guides, blog posts, and newsletters. Our goal was to empower British Columbians to learn from, and prevent, common incidents and risks.
Chairlift Safety
User behavior on chairlifts remains a significant concern within our safety initiatives, which is evident by the number of incidents reports we continue to receive annually. This prompted us to work with industry to pilot an intervention for passenger behaviour. Additionally, our ongoing campaign urges individuals to prioritize safety on the lift, emphasizing the importance of not using cellphones on the lift, securing belongings properly, and always lowering the safety bar.
In response to feedback for a fresh campaign perspective, we took on a complete campaign overhaul in 2023 to better resonate with a younger and more serious skiing or snowboarding demographic. Our revamped ads highlighted the potential loss of valuable slope time due to preventable chairlift incidents.
These dynamic ads were shared on Facebook and Google, geo-targeting ski resorts across BC and engaging outdoor enthusiasts, skiers, and snowboarders. Our safety tips were also displayed on bus routes to and from mountain areas across BC. Furthermore, we amplified our message through influencer videos to broaden our reach among avid skiers and snowboarders.
Home Renovation Safety – Hire a Licensed Contractor
Our spring home renovation campaign emphasized the importance of hiring licensed contractors for electrical and gas work around the home. This year, we expanded campaign efforts to reach a broader audience and introduced new formats to share information, such as informal instructional videos, incident investigation videos with safety tips, and a cameo video featuring Mike Holmes advocating for the value of licensed contractors.
These videos significantly amplified our outreach efforts, sparking increased engagement and discussions among viewers. In comparison to static ads, our video ads garnered substantial results, with 18 times more shares, 20 times more reactions, and 37 times more comments.
We maintained our commitment to inclusivity by sharing campaign messaging in Mandarin, continuing high levels of engagement and traffic to our campaign landing page for the second consecutive year.
Extreme Weather Preparedness
As climate change worsens, extreme weather events like wildfires, floods, and heavy storms in BC are becoming more common. Our reactive campaigns offer vital safety guidance to residents, with tips on home preparation and evacuation protocols during extreme weather incidents.
In 2023, we prioritized wildfire safety tips, targeting digital ads in communities that were under wildfire warnings or evacuation orders. Our messaging also extended to municipal websites, quarterly newsletters for contractors, and our social media channels, helping increase the accessibility of critical safety information.
Carbon Monoxide Safety
Despite ongoing efforts, carbon monoxide (CO) exposure continues to pose a significant risk within our safety landscape. In fact, it was included in our Top 5 Safety Risks as a part of our risk register. A 2023 survey also highlighted concerning trends, with only 42% of respondents reporting annual servicing of their gas appliances by licensed contractors, while 42% lacked CO detectors despite nearly half of British Columbians owning gas appliances.
In collaboration with Vancouver General Hospital, BC Emergency Health Services and FortisBC, our fall carbon monoxide awareness campaign aimed to educate British Columbians about the symptoms, sources, and prevention of CO in their homes. This year, we integrated video assets into our campaign and expanded our reach by sharing safety information in both Mandarin and Punjabi across relevant channels.
We applied sponsored content and purchased display ads in community newspapers to extend our outreach in rural neighborhoods, Indigenous communities and other communities at risk of being outside of our safety system across BC. We also strategically placed carbon monoxide prevention ads on buses serving suburban communities, outside of the Lower Mainland.