April 5, 2010

Occupational Health and Safety

Construction given bulk of fines

RICHARD GILBERT

staff writer

Companies in five construction-related industries accounted for more than half of the penalties imposed by WorksafeBC in 2009 and a record amount of fines were handed out to all employers.

“WorkSafeBC has increased its inspection and investigation capacity, directing a more intensive focus to the industries and employers that present the highest risk to workers, including construction sites, and employers where compliance has been known to be an issue — such as roofing”, said Roberta Ellis, vice president of the policy, investigations and review division at WorkSafeBC.

“In 2008, we developed a team of 16 prevention officers to focus on residential construction.”

Construction firms accounted for 58.7 per cent of penalties imposed.

Those companies were in the following industry classifications: Steep Slope Roofing at 29 per cent (62), House or Other Wood Frame General Contracting, Construction or Renovation Work with 10 per cent (21), Framing or Residential Forming at eight per cent (17), Low Slope Roofing with seven per cent (15), Industrial, Commercial, Institutional or Highrise Residential General Contracting or Construction at 4.2 per cent (nine).

“We have a concern that all construction companies follow the regulations and provide a safe workplace,” said Grant McMillan, president of the Council of Construction Associations. >>

“When this doesn’t happen there has to be some action to educate and penalize companies that are not in compliance,” he said.

Last year, 211 penalties were imposed against 190 employers, totalling $4,465,313.40.

Individual penalties ranged from $1,000 up to $250,000. The previous record amount was a total of $4,256,516 for 221 penalties imposed in 2007.

“Well certainly, the higher fines, increased surveillance and high risk strategy has been implemented and seems to be working,” said Wayne Peppard, executive director of the B.C. and Yukon Territory Building Construction Trades Council.

“The increased penalties are a message to the industry that it must pay more attention to the way it trains and supervises its workers. However, this is mostly on the residential side. I hope WorkSafe will increase this in the rest of the industry.”

McMillan believes there is a reason for the focus on residential construction.

“Residential construction has been ignored for the last decade and now they are getting some of the attention received by other sectors of the industry,” he said.

The highest penalty in 2009 was imposed against Canadian Natural Resources Limited for an incident where a young worker fell from a work platform on a drilling rig, after it was engulfed in flames following an uncontrolled release of gas from a wellbore.

The firm failed to analyze the risks arising from work activities and to implement safe work procedures as required by the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation. The violations resulted in a worker’s death.

Other major fines included:

• SNC-Lavalin Constructors and Rizzani Eccher were fined $250,000 for the death of a worker, who was operating a carry-deck crane and was crushed between the crane and a bridge side wall for the Canada Line.

This employer failed to adequately instruct, direct, and supervise workers, and failed to carry out effective, regular workplace inspections to ensure safe work practices

• Viceroy Homes was fined $74,000 for the death of a young worker, who was injured when a cart carrying 990 kg of wooden trusses tipped over onto him.

• JAS Construction was fined $18,000 when a worker was killed after sustaining fatal head injuries in a fall of about nine metres from the roof of a three-storey townhouse. The worker was wearing a fall protection harness, but it was not secured to an anchor system.

There was no site-specific fall protection plan and the firm failed to provide its workers with the information, instruction, training, and supervision necessary to ensure their health and safety.

• Coastal Steel Systems was fined about $7,000 in the death of a worker, who fell off a roof and then through insulation to a concrete floor five metres below.

He died in hospital from his head injuries. The employer failed to ensure the use of a fall protection system for work where a fall of three metres or more could occur. It also failed to provide its workers, including the deceased worker, with adequate information, instruction, training and supervision to ensure their health and safety.

McMillan said companies that fail to comply with health and safety regulations need to go to the Construction Safety Network or the Construction Safety Association to learn how to improve their performance.

He added that unfortunately, for some companies, penalties are necessary to motivate them to do this.

Print | Comment