Corporate Safety

We recognize that a long-term goal of having the safest working environment compared with the best performers of any industry and to have none of our employees experience a serious safety injury requires innovation, creativity, teamwork and the commitment of every employee.

In fiscal 2005 we saw continued improvement in safety performance. This improvement retains our employees as top-quartile performers in All Injury Frequency as compared with those in peer utilities of the Canadian Electricity Association.

Despite this general improvement in safety performance, an electrical contact incident occurred at the Puntledge Substation on September 13, 2004, taking the life of one of our employees. This incident initiated a broad review of safety practices and procedures across all BC Hydro operations. This review was completed in May 2005 and included: dialogue sessions with personnel from across the province, a statistical review of all recent incidents, an external assessment of the electrical contact incident findings, and an evaluation of communication practices. All findings were provided at a two-day workshop where a broad cross-section of BC Hydro personnel discussed current issues, and identified areas where opportunities to improve exist. These opportunities are to be brought forth to BC Hydro Executive Management for action and will provide additional direction to our long-term safety strategies.

Success in achieving our vision of an injury-free workplace requires a sustained investment in teamwork, planning, maintenance of systems, training and leadership. The continued development of BC Hydro’s long-term safety goal will ensure that focus is maintained, with attention to safety every day.

All Injury Frequency

Definition

All Injury Frequency is the total number of employee injury incidents (Medical Aids and Disabling Injuries) occurring in the 12 months prior to the report date relative to the amount of worked hours in the same period. For this measurement, Medical Aid injuries are defined as those where a medical practitioner has rendered services beyond the level defined as “first aid” in relation to the injury incident, and the employee was not absent from work beyond time lost on the day of the injury. Disabling injuries are defined as those that involve the employee being absent from work beyond the day of injury.

Variance Explanation

All Injury Frequency at year-end was 7.5% ahead of target. The success in the year is attributed to the continued focus on integrating safety into our day-to-day work activity, commensurate with the level of risk being encountered. This achievement speaks to the leadership and ongoing effort of all staff as we seek continuous improvement.

Benchmark Comparison

BC Hydro continues to place within the top quartile among Canadian Electricity Association peers. It is also notable that BC Hydro’s improvement rate has outperformed all other major utilities in the peer group. In comparison to B.C. Industry (as measured by the Workers’ Compensation Board of B.C.), BC Hydro also performs very well. BC Hydro currently is experiencing an injury rate less than half that of the B.C. average.