Decker Lake Forest Products was recently issued with a number of inspection orders by WorkSafe B.C. that required further action be taken.

The orders were included in a WorkSafe B.C. report following the inspections of sawmills that took place after the occurred earlier this year.

The inspections were carried out before the Lakeland Mill tragedy occurred on April 23, 2012.

WorkSafe B.C. officers inspected 36 sawmills in the region and from that, a total of 59 inspection reports were issued, 23 of which included orders requiring further action to be taken.

WorkSafe B.C. officers have the authority to issue occupational health and safety orders under the Workers Compensation Act directing various actions be taken to comply with regulations. Officers may also impose administrative penalties against employers for violations.

According to the report, inspecting officers visited Decker Lake Forest Products on Jan. 31 2012, to assess compliance with the Workers Compensation Act and Occupation Health and Safety regulations.

They toured the sawmill site and indicated the need for installing or updating safe guards throughout the sawmill.

According to the report, Hampton Affiliates, the owner of Decker Lake Forest Products, was aware that more work was required in the basement area of the sawmill and said that an additional work plan for safe guarding initiatives was to be developed for the planer mill, the sorter and other areas of the sawmill.

The sawmill鈥檚 housekeeping duties involved two people working eight hours per day, five days a week in the sawmill and one person working the same shift in the planer mill. No buildup of wood dust was noted on the upper floor of the sawmill however a build up of wood dust was evident under conveyors and spools, under stairs, on electrical switches and around electrical motors in the basement area of both the sawmill and planer.

WorkSafe B.C. noted that the wood dust build up was in contravention of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations. If combustible dust collects in a building or structure, or on machinery or equipment it must be safely removed before any wood dust accumulation causes a fire or an explosion. A corrective order was issued.

On March 8, 2012 following a fire occurred at the sawmill two days prior, where two workers were treated on site for mild smoke inhalation WorkSafe B.C. officers again inspected the sawmill.

Following the incident, WorkSafe B.C. required Hampton Affiliates to complete an investigation into the incident and provide a copy of the investigation report including an analysis of their emergency response and evacuation system, fire protection system and fire fighting efforts. No order was written following this inspection, however on March 21, 2012, inspecting officers paid another visit to the sawmill for a follow up inspection.

A WorkSafe B.C. report noted that following the Jan. 31, 2012 visit, Hampton Affiliates had said their efforts were focussed on increased housekeeping and safe guarding throughout the sawmill. The company had indicated to WorkSafe B.C., via a January 2012 email that a guarding assessment would be completed in the planer in January 2012 and that the issues would be corrected late January, or early February.鈥�

However the investigating officer said in a follow up report, 鈥淒uring this inspection, I did not note any new guarding and examples of inadequate or no guarding were plainly evident around the planer. No safe guarding was noted at the waste conveyer under the planer trim saws, unguarded drive sprockets and chains and inadequate safeguarding was noted under the planer in feed area and unguarded drag conveyers and tail spools were also noted.鈥�

Housekeeping issues that were previously noted by WorkSafe B.C. officers were also unchanged according to the report.

鈥淭he employer [Hampton Affiliates] reported plans to improve sawdust collection and removal in the sawmill. We inspected areas of the planer mill and the basement of the sawmill and the sawdust conditions found during this inspection appeared unchanged from the previous inspection conducted on Jan. 21, 2012. This order is in continued non compliance.鈥�

It was noted that a door leading to the conveyor drop out chute was identified with a hand drawn sign reading, 鈥淭his room must be cleaned daily. Daily Clean. Fire Hazard,鈥� however the inspecting officer noted that the amount of dust on the floor, beams and equipment is evidence that the room had not been cleaned recently.

鈥淭his inspection was completed mid day and the sawmill has only been running for four hours ... this order is not complied with and this is a contravention of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.鈥�

Hampton Affiliates were subsequently ordered to submit a compliance plan by April 30, 2012 to WorkSafe B.C. to address the safe guarding and dust control deficiencies in both the planer and sawmill.

Donna Freeman, director of media relations for WorkSafe B.C. said a notice of non compliance was submitted by Hampton Affiliates on April 30, 2012.

鈥淭he notice of non compliance details actions taken by the employer to address issues related to safe guarding, housekeeping, and corrective action related to a fire in the planer. The information contained in the notice demonstrated reasonable progress toward addressing the safe guarding and housekeeping deficiencies at Decker Lake Forest Products,鈥� she said.

A follow up inspection of housekeeping measures was conducted at the sawmill on May 1, 2012. 鈥淚mprovements in the overall housekeeping and reduction in combustible wood dust were noted, with some exceptions. The employer took immediate action to rectify these issues and has provided several updates related to their efforts to comply. The employer was required to submit a notice of compliance detailing steps taken to correct the contraventions and this was received May 22, 2012 with details of action taken and planned,鈥� she said.

鈥淎t this stage I consider the employer鈥檚 progress toward compliance reasonable and consistent with industry peers. Although not a focus of this inspection, it was noted that safe guarding improvements had been made at the planer and a millwright was on site working to build equipment guards,鈥� she added.

According to inspection reports, Lakeland Mill in Prince George, the site of a fire and explosion last month that killed two workers and injured dozens of others was also inspected by WorkSafe B.C. following the Babine Forest Products tragedy.

In February 2012, WorkSafe B.C. flagged an accumulation of wood dust at the sawmill. Accumulated piles of wood dust in various areas of the sawmill were reported and while no orders were written, the employer was advised to clean up refuse and waste material so that it not accumulate further.

Several other sawmills, including Conifex Inc. and L&M Lumber in Vanderhoof were also cited in the report to have wood dust build up that needed to be addressed.