WorkSafeBC

Having been appointed at the beginning of 2002, the Board of Directors put its mark on organization by setting a new direction through the development and publication in 2003 of its Strategic Plan. The strategy focused the organization on five strategic areas:

1. Keeping the health and safety promise
2. Making a difference, one human being at a time
3. Matching organizational capacity to customer demand
4. Transforming societal attitudes
5. Protecting the financial integrity of the system

The new focus required new structures and systems, setting in motion significant changes to the organization. Existing structures and functions were closely scrutinized in light of the strategy. The strategic plan reaffirmed the "historic compromise" and added "guiding principles" to the legislative mandate, consolidating the foundations for future action. Measurement, planning, and close attention to customer-service principles for internal and external stakeholders became hallmarks of the organization. The dual priorities of prevention and service were reflected in the new operating identity: "WorkSafeBC - working to make a difference".

• Board of Directors initiated a strategic planning process that will result in a long-term strategic direction for the Workers' Compensation Board
• Adopted a new service delivery model for claimants that focused on a higher level of support, counselling and return to work earlier in the claims process
• Restructured operations to focus on core services and reduce administration costs, while continuing to provide a high level of service to workers and employers
• Established a Quality Management Framework for delivering consistent, high-quality service and decision-making within the Review Division
• Infectious agents such as SARS and Norwalk began surfacing in B.C. workplaces
• Legislation established a new workers' compensation appeal structure
• Rehabilitation Centre in Richmond closed due to the availability of high-quality treatment facilities throughout B.C. with the capacity to provide treatment for injured workers closer to their homes

• Board of Directors completed its first strategic planning process and approved the WCB's strategic plan
• Introduced an account management initiative, enabling the delivery of specialized services to the largest worker and employer partners
• Implemented industry segmentation, assigning specialized teams to specific industry sectors, allowing staff to develop expertise in the industries served
• Instituted a recognized quality assurance strategy using the National Quality Institute's standards for public sector excellence
• Included a WorkSafe float in the Rogers Santa Claus Parade, and introduced WorkSafe Sam — a mascot that will help deliver the WorkSafe message to a broader public audience
• Undertook a significant internal reorganization following broad-based consultation with workers, employers, the public, government and staff. Under the new structure, resources, programs and functional business teams have been redistributed more effectively and major lines of business shared between several operating divisions rather than assigned to separate areas of the organization
• Introduced a new serious-injury prevention program aimed at industries and classification units with the highest rates of serious injury
• Launched a new Lessons Learned project, which is a coordinated communications and education strategy aimed at sharing the causes of serious injury incidents and work-related fatalities with workers, employers and the public
• Created a new specialized brain injury group in response to a greater than expected influx of brain injury claims
• Nurse advisors and vocational rehabilitation consultants became involved in the claim process earlier than ever before, working to design and implement customized rehabilitation and return-to-work plans
• Launched a three-year pilot project with the pulp and paper industry, which offers financial incentives to employers that meet specified standards in disability management and return to work for their employees
• The avian influenza virus put workers at risk and resulted in millions of birds being destroyed
• Adopted the Canadian Accounting Standards Board's new standard requiring organizations across Canada to apply “fair value accounting”.

• The year 2005 was a dismal one for work-related fatalities in British Columbia, recording 188 work-related fatalities — 51 of them in the forestry sector. Another fatality involved a young worker who was killed while working alone at a gas station late at night, raising awareness of the dangers workers face when working alone.
• The Board of Directors' Health and Safety Initiative was introduced to examine the current and possible future state of the workers' compensation system in B.C.
• Changed the organization's operating name to WorkSafeBC (formal legal name remains as the Workers' Compensation Board of British Columbia).
• Board of Directors changed funding policy so that total assets must now cover total liabilities by 100 to 130 percent
• Auditor General of British Columbia recognizes that WorkSafeBC is the first organization whose annual report and service plan fully meets B.C. Reporting Principles
• Initiated a long-term ethnic community outreach strategy
• Introduced new case management guidelines that incorporate new service strategies and set new standards for the management of injured workers' claims
• Introduced Voice of the Customer, a completely redesigned stakeholder feedback strategy enabling WorkSafeBC to identify, prioritize and respond to workers' most pressing service needs
• Introduced a new Quality Decision Review Program in the Review Division to address the quality of its decision making, ensuring the correct application of law and policy
• There was heightened awareness of threats from infectious diseases that may result in a global pandemic

• WorkSafeBC achieved strong financial results in 2006, with a surplus of $987 million and a smoothed funding ratio of 117 percent.
• WorkSafeBC continued to enhance customer service through new initiatives such as Teleclaim, a new service centre that injured workers can call to report injuries and receive personal assistance to help them with their recovery and return to work.
• Rapid economic growth in 2005 and 2006 — particularly in high-risk sectors such as construction and manufacturing — has stretched the organization’s capacity to deal with increasing claim volumes and growing numbers of worksites throughout the province.
• WorkSafeBC created two new targeted enforcement initiatives in 2006: one directed at the forestry industry and the other at gas stations. The 2005 gas station tragedy resulted in proposed amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation requiring mandatory pre-payment at gas stations in urban areas (late at night and in the early morning hours) and more formalized training and orientation for new and young workers.
• In 2006, there were 160 work-related deaths — 61 of which were caused by occupational disease.
• For current year developments, see News