For Reg Steward, safety isn’t something you add to the workplace. It’s embedded in every task, and is integral to good business, training and management.
As the AgSafe BC Superintendent of Field Operations, Provincial Ranch Safety Specialist and Regional Consultant for Cariboo Chilcotin, Steward has a simple message for agriculture employers interested in improving their health and safety protocol.
“You don’t have to do it alone.”
AgSafe BC is the bridge between safety regulations and the reality in your fields.
They work with and for farmers to help them achieve compliance and provide a safe work environment. When Steward visits a ranch or farm he asks three basic questions:
• What’s the challenge?
• What have you done to solve it?
• How have you documented it?
“Farmers and ranchers are resilient and usually very good at coming up with solutions. AgSafe BC helps a lot with Part 3. We provide resources and tools that assist them in ensuring safe work practices are in place, competency is determined and documentation is done.”
Certificate of Recognition (COR) Program
One of the ways AgSafe BC helps employers is through the Certificate of Recognition Program (COR). The voluntary program allows employers to demonstrate their commitment to health and safety, and reap the rewards.
Increase morale by showing employees you care about their health and safety. Risk management requires that employees are protected from injury and disease.
Lower claim costs and watch WorkSafeBC premiums go down over time. Once you achieve COR you may be eligible for financial incentives, which can add up to big savings depending on your payroll.
Having COR can also give you a competitive advantage on many agriculture contracts. “Safety is good business,” says Ron Maciborski, AgSafe BC Safety Consultant for Kootenay and South Okanagan Regions.
Interested? AgSafe BC is here to help online and in the fields.
“Our website is a tremendous resource tool,” Maciborski says. When you’re ready to talk, AgSafe BC will come to you.
“Our team of regional safety consultants and advisors will drive down the gravel road or through the snowstorm to work through these protocols with you,” Steward says.
5 Steps to COR Safety
- Register for COR. It’s a simple online form, and no cost to the employer.
- Assess your existing Health and Safety Program. Use the Safety Ready online self-assessment tool, or request an AgSafe BC consultant to conduct a Gap Analysis. “The advisor will work with you to find gaps in your existing health and safety program, and work toward solutions,” Maciborski says. All consultations are free of charge.
- Take Action. Over the following months, take steps to fill in the gaps in your health and safety program and work toward achieving certification. AgSafe BC will assist you through the whole process.
- Perform an Audit. Have an employee take the AgSafe BC auditor training. Small employers with 19 or fewer employees conduct an internal audit. Large employers must pay for an external audit every three years, and conduct an internal maintenance audit in other years.
- Enjoy the benefits of being COR Certified. Achieve 80 per cent or higher on your audit, and you’ve passed. Submit your audit to AgSafe BC for Quality Assurance, and they send your passing grade to WorkSafeBC for certification. Enjoy a safer workplace, improved employee morale and save money with reduced premiums.
AgSafe BC is the non-profit health and safety association for agricultural producers in British Columbia.
Contact AgSafe BC:
1-877-533-1789 | Contact@AgSafeBC.ca
