PERSONAL IMPACT STATEMENT — MARK HOLAND — WorkSafeBC Claim

On January 12 | was assigned to Workstation 3 in the Control Training Room at OMC1.
Workstation 3 is located directly in front of two refrigerator-sized server racks, approximately two
feet from my head.

The noise was immediately problematic. It was difficult to hear my instructor. | had to ask
repeatedly for them to speak up. | wore my ANC earbuds when possible but could not wear
them during instruction.

| did not complain at first. | did not want to cause problems. | thought | could handle it. | have
worked in noisy environments my entire career.

What ! did not understand at the time — and only discovered later when reviewing photographs
taken on my last day — was that the server rack had a side panel missing on the side closest to
the window, creating a direct reflective path for sound from the server directly into my left ear.
The server was improperly installed: too close to the back wall, cables running through an open
ceiling panel, no fire suppression system, overloaded electrical circuits tripping breakers, a
portable fan placed on a windowsill to cool it. | could not find any permit pulled for 6800 14 Ave
Burnaby in the past year. They appear to have simply plugged it in.

It is not about amplitude. It is about quality. A floodlight and a laser can have similar power
output, but one is harmless and one causes damage. A hand-held sound meter reading below
85db does not capture what a constant, unrelenting, focused fan tone does to a sensitized
nervous system over 10 hours a day, four days a week.

Occupational health checked sound levels with a handheld meter — not even a dosimeter. |
asked whether the measurement was taken with the system under load and the fans fully spun
up. The manager said the fans do not spin up. | told him they do. | have a recording of the fan
spin-up on my phone. Because spin-up events are infrequent by nature, a dosimeter worn over
a full shift would capture what a single handheld reading cannot and did not.

| was told two other classes had been through the room without complaint. | understood
immediately why. If you complain at the start of Control training, you risk losing the opportunity.
Everyone in that room faced the same calculation | did. The server was a known issue. Emails
had been sent. Nothing was done.

The So-Called Accommodation

It was suggested that moving me to a table away from Workstation 3 constituted an
accommodation. It did not.

Sitting approximately 20 feet from the server rather than 2 feet did not eliminate the hazard. |
had access to a workstation only when the instructor was not using hers. For someone who
learns by doing, who wants to explore every function and shortcut, this was academically
detrimental. | had significantly less simulator time than other students. | was still worsening. |
was still sensitizing.

Half measures were never going to work. The hazard must be completely eliminated. Not
reduced. Eliminated. A cubicle divider is not a solution. Moving the student is not a solution. The
server installation is wrong from the ground up — it should not be in an occupied training room
under any circumstances. The solution is to relocate the server, install it correctly, in an
appropriate location, with proper ventilation, fire suppression, and permits.

Page 3 — Confidential — WorkSafeBC Claim Documentation