State of Safety 2024 Media Release
May 22, 2025
Technical Safety BC Highlights the Dangers of Taking Risks to Save Costs in Latest State of Safety Report
Vancouver, BC (May 22, 2025) – Technical Safety BC released its 2024 State of Safety and Annual Report, outlining the leading safety priorities and risks for British Columbians over the past year. This year’s report emphasizes escalating concerns around the ‘grey market’ of unlicensed, uncertified, and unpermitted work as well as the 'false economy’ of cost-cutting at the expense of safety. The State of Safety report calls for greater public awareness and a commitment by British Columbians to keep safety top of mind.
“The 2024 State of Safety report is not just about numbers; it's about real people and the very real dangers they face when safety is compromised as a cost-cutting measure,” said Phil Gothe, President and Lead Executive Officer at Technical Safety BC. "No one gets up in the morning wanting to cause an incident – but then they decide to cut corners and operate outside of the safety system, which increases risk. Everyone in the safety system has a responsibility to make safety-minded decisions, invest in proper training, and hold those who are non-compliant accountable.”
The Risks of the Grey Market
The “grey market” of unlicensed, uncertified, and unpermitted work poses a significant safety risk in British Columbia. In 2024, Technical Safety BC conducted over 1,200 investigations into suspected grey market activities. Key findings of non-compliance in gas and electrical technologies included expired licences, performing work outside licensed technologies, obtaining permits for unlicensed or unqualified individuals, working without proper permits, and advertising regulated work without required licences.
For example, Technical Safety BC recently released an investigation report on an incident where an unqualified worker experienced electrical burns to their face and hands while attempting to upgrade store lighting at a major retailer. Work was being performed on live electrical equipment without protective equipment, and without de-energizing the system. Several factors contributed to this incident including on-site workers who were not qualified to perform electrical work in the province, a lack of on-site supervision and oversight by the Field Safety Representative or qualified supervisors to ensure regulated work was completed safely.
Reducing grey market activity benefits everyone’s safety and builds integrity in our safety system. Enforcement actions taken against licensed contractors in BC can be found on Technical Safety BC’s Find a Licensed Contractor online registry.
Cost Cutting over Compliance
The 2024 State of Safety report identifies a clear risk: some individuals and organizations are making decisions that prioritize cost-cutting over long-term safety. This can lead to the use of low-quality materials that fail to meet safety standards, skipping safety training, and overextended equipment. These shortcuts compromise safety, and pose significant risks to British Columbians, potentially leading to accidents, injuries, and even fatalities.
“With economic uncertainty, people may look for ways to reduce costs. It’s easy to minimize the consequences of cutting corners or choosing not to use a licensed contractor,” added Gothe. “But we’ve seen multiple incidents that show these practices come with a hidden price.”
In the Risks in Focus section of the State of Safety Report, these incidents show the real cost of cutting corners:
- An ammonia leak at a food processing facility injured two workers after a deteriorated auto-purger, far past its service life, malfunctioned.
- At a pellet mill, repeated attempts to restart a malfunctioning burner led to two explosions, injuring workers and damaging the facility.
- At an adventure zipline course, a rider careened into a rolling metal staircase. Investigators found that stress and mental fatigue due to lack of staffing may have played a role in the incident.
Driving a Culture of Safety and Compliance
Technical Safety BC is committed to working with industry, government, and the public to foster a culture of compliance to address safety risks. Key initiatives in 2024 include:
- Public Awareness Campaigns: TSBC highlighted safety risks tied to extreme weather, carbon monoxide, and home renovation. TSBC’s channel had over 100,000 YouTube views.
- Enhanced Training and Education: TSBC held 40 educational events, including 37 in-person events and three virtual town halls.
- Increased Compliance and Enforcement Activity: In the electrical technology, 1,069 permits were found to have the incorrect job value, amperage, or installations listed, requiring permit value amendments.
Highlights from the 2024 report:
- The Top Five Safety Risks in 2024 are carbon monoxide, ammonia, gas line strikes, electrical shock and electrical fire.
- 425 reported incidents across all technologies (except railways).
- In total, 113,472 active operating permits and 129,595 installation permits were issued by Technical Safety BC in 2024.
- In total, 49,705 assessments were completed in 2024, of which 4,488 hazards were identified.
View the State of Safety 2024 Report and the 2024 Annual Report and view images below.
About Technical Safety BC
Technical Safety BC is an independent, self-funded organization that oversees the safe installation and operation of technical systems and equipment. In addition to issuing licences, certificates, and permits it works with industry to reduce safety risks through assessment, research, education and outreach, incident investigations, and enforcement. For more information, visit www.technicalsafetybc.ca.
Media Contact:
Technical Safety BC
media@technicalsafetybc.ca