A considerable amount of planning and work went into building a safety equipment and training grant program, says Matthew Duffy, executive director of Fish Safe NS.
The new program launched by Fish Safe NS in January will cover 50% of the cost of certain training courses and safety equipment for members to further improve the culture of safety in the fishing industry.
“We looked at the needs of our members and the industry. We tracked injury trends or where training is really needed at a higher level in processing plants, aquaculture facilities or harvesters,” Duffy said.
“There’s a huge list of things, but we couldn’t accommodate that,” he said, adding that grants are available on a first-come, first-served basis. “It’s not a bottomless money maker, but it’s definitely a great savings opportunity.”
Forklift certificate; reduce workplace injuries; basic first aid at sea and advanced first aid at sea; and Mental Health and Wellness for the Workplace are among the courses subsidized by Fish Safe NS.
Duffy said Fish Safe NS sees many trends in the industry regarding slips, trips and falls, and lifting.
“There are a lot of back injuries. We offer part-day training courses that can be taken on-site or virtually to encourage the reduction of these types of injuries… We also offer discounts for Occupational Health and Safety Committee training, something on which we work with our members regularly over the years. This training aims to help companies rejuvenate or set up an internal OHS committee.
The Mental Health and Wellness course offered by Fish Safe NS was launched last fall. It is a one day course.
“We hope the grant will encourage people to sign up and further their education and knowledge on the subject,” Duffy said. “We encourage managers and supervisors to have it, but in our view it is effective for everyone in the workplace to have it, especially the processing plant employees who work on the line. They might notice something sooner than a manager or supervisor.
Fish Safe is looking to expand the course, produce more videos to highlight all the different industry sectors, and build a small library of mental health champions in the province. Duffy said the industry is able to relate to peers better than a random video on YouTube.
On the equipment side, the program will subsidize life raft inspections, the purchase of solid foam personal flotation devices (PFDs) and personal locator beacons.
“We’ve heard a lot of feedback from our members over the last couple of years that some life raft inspections – not all manufacturers but some – have gone up in price in terms of the life raft inspection,” Duffy said. . “We want to make sure our members continue to have their liferafts inspected every year, as this is crucial safety equipment on board their vessels. By offering this inspection discount, we hope it will reduce costs and encourage people to continue to have their life raft inspected.”
As for PFDs, Duffy said he negotiated great prices on a solid foam PFD to present to the industry.
“We’ve had an overwhelming amount of feedback on this. Not everyone likes the solid PFD, but it’s a really, really good option for anglers. It’s comfortable, it doesn’t rub your neck, it has mesh around your shoulders so it has some wiggle room, it has good pockets, is constructed with durable material and is Transport Canada approved,” he said.
“With the solid PFD, it actually allows us to offer more subsidized PFDs to our members than if we were to go with an inflatable PFD, because the price difference is several hundred dollars.”
Another piece of safety equipment that Fish Safe hopes to become more common in the industry and a regulatory requirement is personal locator beacons.
“It’s a device similar to an EPERB (Emergency Positioning Indication Radio Beacon) that a ship carries,” Duffy said. The Personal Locator Beacon is attached to a PFD so if someone falls overboard or activates. Ships within a certain range receive a man overboard alert.
“We’ve heard a lot of comments from people who have lost loved ones at sea and they personally think the scenario might have been different if their loved one had worn one,” Duffy said. “Obviously this doesn’t apply to all cases, but it is crucial equipment that can very well save a life.
Over the past 10 years, the fishing industries have become more focused on safety, said Arnold DeMings, chairman of the board of Fish Safe NS.
“Fish Safe NS has worked hard to help change the culture of safety in the industries that make up our members,” he said. “It’s a nice and satisfying feeling to be a part of all that helps bring people home safely at the end of the trip, day or shift.”
DeMings said the board created the fund to help encourage the use of security devices across industries and to help make certain equipment more affordable.
“This program also piques the interest of members to check out the association’s website or social media web pages and learn more about how their membership can help them save money on tuition. and training necessary for their continued participation in these activities,” he said.
Last year, just over 500 people signed up for courses offered by Fish Safe NS. So far this year, requests for training have increased by 50% compared to last year.
“We’ve seen good adoption of the 2020 and 2021 training numbers,” Duffy said. “As it stands, 2022 is likely to be a banner year with our association based on the numbers we’re seeing after the first month of the year.”
Safety in the industry is paying off, with another drop in workers’ compensation rates for the harvesting sector in 2022.
“Workers’ compensation rates for 2022 will be 13% lower on average than 2021, a significant drop,” Duffy said. collective savings estimated at $1.4 million for members, Duffy said.
From 2015 to 2022, workers’ compensation premiums paid by the harvesting sector decreased by $62 million.
“These are savings the industry has seen on workers’ compensation premiums, while increasing payroll,” Duffy said. “In 2022, the payroll is estimated at $260 million for fishermen and workers’ compensation rates are decreasing. very encouraging to see the industry taking safety seriously.
