RICHMOND, BC – November 2, 2007: Three B.C. construction companies have been recognized for their safety innovations as part of the 19th annual Vancouver Regional Construction Association (VRCA) Awards of Excellence ceremony held at the Hyatt Regency in Vancouver. “WorkSafeBC is proud to sponsor the safety innovation award and acknowledge all those who have made a difference and helped make construction workplaces safer,” said Vincent Russell, WorkSafeBC’s Director of Industry and Labour Services. Russell presented Precision Gutters Ltd. of Surrey with the gold award for designing the Basemate Ladder Leveler, which gives workers better ladder stability while working on uneven surfaces while installing gutters to commercial and residential projects and providing maintenance to building exteriors. The ladder leveler has proven to be cost effective saving the operator set-up time while creating a more stable platform on any ground surface. The ITC Group of Companies & Ident Software Ltd. in Vancouver won a silver award for their hazard identification software program; this program codes hazards on a plan for each floor of a building under construction. The program reduces the number of places that data about a hazard is recorded, decreasing repetition of input and potential transcription errors. It also allows for the historical and statistical review of any problems in safety. Flynn Canada Ltd. of Surrey also won a silver award for its Beam Guard System that provides a safe and effective fall protection system for metal deck installers that helps eliminate swinging as a fall hazard and lifelines from being cut. The VRCA Awards of Excellence celebrate and acknowledge excellence in construction in award categories such as general, electrical and trade contracting as well as safety innovation. Serving 2.2 million workers and about 190,000 employers, WorkSafeBC is a provincial statutory agency governed by a Board of Directors and funded by employers. WorkSafeBC was born out of a compromise between BC's workers and employers in 1917 where workers gave up the right to sue their employers or fellow workers for injuries on the job in return for a no-fault insurance program fully paid for by employers. WorkSafeBC is committed to a safe and healthy workplace and to providing return-to-work rehabilitation and legislated compensation benefits to workers injured as a result of their employment.
