More employers dinged by WorkSafeBC
WorkSafeBC levied fines for a wide range of worker safety violations in 2022, everything from unsafe storage to lack of fall protection.
The following are more of the top-ranked penalties in the South Okanagan and Boundary taken from the penalty-summaries pages of the WorkSafeBC website, which were omitted from an article in the Jan. 21 due to space:
• SBC Firemaster Ltd., Princeton, $26,646.67 imposed on Oct. 6, 2022. A request for review was received.
This firm operates a firewood manufacturing facility. WorkSafeBC inspected the worksite and observed a worker who was operating a chop saw in proximity to the spinning blade. WorkSafeBC determined that the firm’s lockout procedures were not specific to the chop saw being operated and did not include steps to effectively lock out the saw and de-energize the hydraulics that raised and lowered the saw. The firm failed to ensure that machinery used for normal production work was effectively locked out and secured against inadvertent movement. The firm also failed to ensure that energy-isolating devices were secured in the safe position using locks in accordance with procedures made available to workers. These were both high-risk violations.
• KSN Construction Ltd., Grand Forks, $20,000 imposed on July 19, 2022. A request for review was received.
WorkSafeBC inspected this firm’s residential construction site and observed a worker on the roof, installing sheathing with a nail gun. The worker was wearing a fall protection harness but was not connected to a lifeline, exposing the worker to a fall risk of greater than 7.3 metres. The firm failed to ensure fall protection was used, a repeated and high-risk violation.
• KSN Construction Ltd., Grand Forks, $10,000 imposed on Jan. 27, 2022.
This firm was framing a house. WorkSafeBC observed three workers, one of whom was a representative of the firm, working on the second storey. No form of fall protection was in place, exposing the workers to fall risks of up to 4.3 metres. The firm failed to ensure fall protection was used, a repeated and high-risk violation.
• Mt. Baldy Resort Inc., Baldy Mountain, $7,031.05 imposed on May 17, 2022.
WorkSafeBC attended this firm’s worksite in response to an incident. Two workers were travelling in a snowcat (grooming machine) to conduct maintenance on another piece of equipment. The machine parked and one of the workers exited the machine. The machine then inadvertently moved forward and the worker was caught under it, sustaining fatal injuries. WorkSafeBC’s investigation determined that the machine’s tiller had malfunctioned, preventing the operator from reversing the machine after the injured worker was caught. In addition, neither worker had been adequately trained on this machine, which lacked an interlock mechanism to automatically apply the parking brake when a door of the cab was opened. Furthermore, no hazard identification or risk assessment had been conducted for the planned maintenance activities and no safe work procedures had been developed. The firm failed to ensure the health and safety of all workers at its worksite, and failed to provide its workers with the information, instruction, training, and supervision necessary to ensure their health and safety. These were both high-risk violations.