The number of motor vehicle incidents and dangerous occurrences involving city workers declined during the second quarter of 2022, although injuries and property damage increased during that time.
There were six motor vehicle incidents involving municipal staff between April 1 and June 30 of this year, compared to 16 incidents in Q2 2021, 16 episodes in Q2 2020 and 18 incidents in Q2 2019, a recent city council report said.
Between Jan. 1 and June 30 of 2022, there were 10 motor vehicle incidents compared to 41 such incidents in Q2 2021. The culpability involving city staff was 33 per cent this year compared to a culpability rating of 75 per cent during the same time last year.
Of note, during the second quarter of 2022, there was one collision where a front-end loader hit a parked vehicle due to road conditions. Also, two incidents of damage happened because city staff reversed machines without a spotter, resulting in discipline.
Meanwhile, there were three incidents where the public was at fault because motorists city buses and damaged their mirrors.
There were zero dangerous occurrences during Q2 2022, compared to five in Q2 2021, one in Q2 2020 and five in Q2 2019, the council report said.
From Jan. 1 to June 30 of this year, there were 10 dangerous occurrences compared to eight episodes last year.
There were 11 incidents of property damage involving city staff or others during Q2 2022, compared to four incidents in Q2 2021 and Q2 2020 and nine incidents in Q2 2019.
From Jan. 1 to June 30 of this year, there were 29 incidents of property damage compared to six incidents during the same period last year.
Inattention by city workers was the main reason for the increase in property damage incidents this year, particularly in Q1, the council report said. However, the number of incidents was down compared to Q1, while city staff were only culpable for four incidents in Q2.
Meanwhile, there were 11 injuries in Q2 2022, compared to nine incidents in 2021, 21 incidents in 2020 and 14 episodes in 2019.
From Jan. 1 to June 30 of this year, there were 25 injuries compared to 26 incidents during the same period in 2021.
City manager Jim Puffalt told media recently that there are always ebbs and flows with safety statistics while circumstances occur.
“If you look in the report, there are events where people are driving into buses, so certainly we’re always watching those and looking for numbers to go down,” he said.
City hall takes an overall approach to worker safety by attempting to ensure everyone goes home safely at night, while if incidents happen, city administration looks for ways to prevent them from happening in the future, Puffalt continued.
That’s why city hall hired a second safety officer so that that person can be in the field helping prevent situations, he remarked. Those extra eyes may also be why more incidents have been recorded.
“We find that when people get busy, they sometimes forget their safe work procedures and those types of things,” he said. “And as you can see in the report, there is discipline that is happening.
“It’s just when we have people working with equipment, and the number of people that we have, these types of occurrences will happen.”
Worker demographics
There were 373 employees with the city as of June 30, a council report said. The workforce demographics show:
• 50.6 per cent have less than five years with the city
• 18.5 per cent have five to 10 years
• 12.3 per cent have 10 to 15 years
• 6.7 per cent have 15 to 20 years
• 6.2 per cent have 20 to 25 years
• 5.7 per cent have over 25 years
The age of the city workforce shows:
• 11.1 per cent are under the age of 20
• 20.3 per cent are aged 20 to 30
• 23.1 per cent are 30 to 40
• 20.3 per cent are 40 to 50
• 17.5 per cent are 50 to 60
• 7.7 per cent are over 60
Meanwhile, men make up 59.9 per cent of the workforce and women comprise 40.1 per cent.
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