December 2, 2009

Death of Alberta snowcat driver prompts creation of ice safety guide

STEPHEN DAFOE

correspondent

EDMONTON

The death of a snowcat driver, who broke through the ice while operating his equipment on the Peace River in Northern Alberta, has resulted in a new manual and training program to help keep Albertans safe while working on or near ice.

The prime contractor in the 2005 incident pleaded guilty to Occupational Health and Safety Act violations and was fined more than $300,000. The majority of the penalty was used to produce a best practices guide for the province.

“It’s got pretty much everything short of the actual engineering work, like where you’d need someone who would come in and certify things,” said Chris Chodan, a spokesperson with Alberta Employment and Immigration about the new guide.

“But, it’s got how to do the planning, how to do some of the assessment of where you’re likely to need to use this.”

Chodan noted that the 58-page manual includes a wealth of information on how ice is formed and how it behaves, including information on differentiating between the properties of ice formed on rivers and lakes, as well as the properties and strength of ice covered by, and free of, snow.

The best practices guide also includes information on types of loads and load durations, traffic volume, monitoring ice cracks, and how to develop an ice safety and emergency response plan, all explained through diagrams, flow charts and formulas.

Additionally, a recommended check list of equipment and personal protective equipment (PPE) is provided, as well as an ice cover inspection checklist template.

The production of the best practices guide, which Choden said took a little more than a year to complete, was a multi-stakeholder effort including Alberta Employment and Immigration, Atco Electric, EBA Engineering, the Municipality of Wood Buffalo, Girard Enterprises, Alberta Pacific Forest Industry, City of Edmonton (Parks), LaPrairie Group Contractors Alberta Ltd. and Shell Canada Energy.

“There were a lot of different people engaged in it, so we have companies that are actively involved in the preparation of ice roads and working surfaces, so that you get some industry input into it as well,” he said, noting that it was important to have corporate representation in addition to government occupational health and safety officers and policy people.

“The resulting data and best practices information has been produced in a binder format, as well as a small field guide version, printed on tear and water-proof paper.

Additionally, final touches are currently being applied to an online e-learning program for people to take prior to working with the manual.

Although the training program is not a certification program, Chodan said he is hoping companies will take advantage of the available resources as part of their ongoing safety operations.

“It’s something we’re looking at making a little more widespread, so that the companies themselves get a general idea,” he said.

He noted that companies will still need engineers to come in and certify some things before work can proceed, but that the manual gives management and workers a basis on which to work safely.

“This (manual and program) is kind of unique though because it’s the first time (in Alberta) you’ve got all the information about how to work safely (on ice) kind of compiled into one document.”

Copies of the manual can be ordered through the Occupational Health and Safety Contact Centre at 1-866-415-8690.

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