City Stats Show Year Over Year Reduction In Workplace Injuries

It was a mixed bag when it came to the City of Moose Jaw’s safety statistics but overall the number of injuries and serious incidents took major drops in 2019 compared to 2018.

In figures releases as part of the City of Moose Jaw Quarterly Acvtivity Reports the number of City workers reporting injuries has dropped from 103 injuried in 2018 to 75 injuries in 2019.

Despite the drop in the injury rate year over year there was an increase of one workplace injury in the fourth quarter (October - December). In the fourth quarter of 2019 there were 19 injuries versus 18 injuries in the same time period in 2018.

In the area where medical aid was needed for an injured worker there was a 25 perccent decrease in 2019 from 2018. In 2018 medical aid was required in 24 incidents whereas in 2019 the number of incidents where medical aid was required was 18.

Workplace Safety Statistics For City of Moose Jaw - source City of MooseJaw Quarterly Reports

Despite the drop in injuries requiring medical aid the number of lost time incidents and the days lost spoked in the fourth quarter of 2019 versus the same time period in 2018. In the fourth quarter of 2018 there were 0 lost time incidents and as a result there were 0 days lost. In the same period in 2019 there were four lost time incidents and as a result 47 days lost.

The report states that five of the seven lost time incidents in 2019 were back injuries caused by over exertion and slips and falls.

A major improvement was the 40 percent drop in Dangerous Occurences from 26 in 2018 to 16 in 2019.

Of the 16 Dangerous Occurences in 2019 there were two reportable to Occupation Health and Safety.

The fourth quarter in 2019 saw an almost 50 percent drop in Dangerous Occurences versus 2018. In the fourth quarter of 2018 there were 11 Dangerous Occurences versus six over the same time period in 2019.

A final bright spot in the report is the number of work refusals in 2019 was 0 compared to 2018 when the number of work refusals was two.

Work refusals is where a worker refuses to do a task because they honestly view it as dangerous work. Every worker in the province has the right and responsibility to refuse to do work they view as dangerous to themselves and others. The report does not provide details as to what types of incidents were refused in 2018.