The genesis for this initiative is a continuation of the “Seeing Safely: Developing Better Perceptual Training for Forestry Professionals” project which was conducted by the University of British Columbia and the Safety Advisory Foundation for Education and Research (SAFER), with funding support provided by WorkSafeBC.
The study found that forestry work in British Columbia (B.C.), Canada is risky business. Rates of minor injuries, serious injuries and fatalities all exceed those of other industries in B.C. (Statistics: Forestry, 2021). Although there are existing rigorous safety training courses for fallers (BC, 2019, Training, n.d., 2019, CAGC, 2019)), the content and quality of individual training varies, and may be associated with the level of hazard/size of trees in the local area. Additionally, while this training focuses heavily on teaching functional skill sets and general safety mitigation, they do not teach forestry professionals specific visual evaluation strategies to get better at recognizing hazards and avoiding potential danger. Our team recognized this gap and saw an opportunity to build a program specifically focused on improving visual perception in forestry workers, to teach them how to think about the limits of their ability to see, to improve their perceptual skills and become experts in seeing safely. The objectives of this project were to:
The team approached this work systematically, by first conducting a literature review of the most common and dangerous hazards faced by fallers in the workplace. We then cataloged the associated perceptual processes that enable humans to see (or might cause them to miss) these hazards. We then investigated how existing training programs train fallers to mitigate these hazards, which helped us validate the idea that perceptual training is not currently a part of the standard procedure. A focus group conversation with experienced fallers was held to validate the literature review findings and discuss first hand training and mitigation strategies to stay safe at work. The results from this background work was synthesized into the Seeing Safely training program.
The research and literature confirmed that there are many important elements of hazard identification which have not been covered in existing training programs. Additionally, there has been no consideration of existing visual literacy and perceptual training program methodologies in the forestry industry.
The key findings from the research project showed that perceptual expertise can be developed through focused practice and reflection/communication. Forestry professionals need better strategies to learn how to do this, and ultimately for seeing and observing their surrounding environments. We provide these strategies to develop visual experts in our training.
Several training approaches were identified that exist already. Several were introduced and summarized and further investigation is needed.
Based on the literature review and focus group iterations, it was determined that the training should be broken into three sections: 1) an introduction to how human visual perception works from a scientific perspective and examples of key visual processes, 2) a section linking key visual processes to hazard identification, explaining exactly how we use perception to see (or miss) important details in our surrounding world, and 3) live demos to illustrate teachings and test trainee knowledge in a collaborative and supportive way. Through the focus groups, the team consistently received feedback that interactive demos made the materials more engaging and easier to learn, so these were inserted and prioritized throughout the training.
The SAFER Council with funding from the B.C. Forest Safety Council has continued to pursue the training identified in the research for its applicability and to develop a web based training platform that captures the training that was identified in the “Seeing Safely: Developing Better Perceptual Training for Forestry Professionals” project.