LRT: Injuries, close calls, bad toilets
Joint health and safety committee documents conditions, concerns
Records produced after internal safety meetings for the Confederation Line LRT reveal more about workers’ injuries and their concerns on Ottawa’s largest infrastructure project.
Seven sets of minutes from meetings held by the project’s joint health and safety committee, whose membership includes trade workers, were reviewed by the Citizen after they landed in the hands of the Ottawa and District Labour Council.
The documents include summaries of reported injuries, “near misses”, inspection orders and concerns expressed by workers on the municipality’s $2.1-billion transit job.
In a written statement, Rideau Transit Group said it couldn’t comment on internal communications, but the consortium explained that joint health and safety committees are chaired by a management representative and a union-labour certified worker representative.
“The (committees) are just one of the tools we use to work cooperatively to identify and control hazards, report and fix unsafe conditions, and establish safe work methods,” RTG said.
Minutes from a meeting in January 2017 include a note about labour ministry inspectors investigating a worker who lost consciousness while working along the old Transitway near Carruthers Avenue. Inspectors required a subcontractor to provide air monitor records, proof of confined space training for workers and safe work procedures for confined spaces.
There were descriptions of other injuries shared during that meeting, such as a worker amputating the tip of his thumb when a circular saw kicked back, a worker straining his groin while repositioning a steel beam, a worker receiving seven stitches to close a wound on an index finger from a steel burr and a worker’s ring finger crushed while repositioning equipment.
A nagging dirty washroom issue was flagged during a March meeting when officials were planning to rotate portable toilets out more often and order more units.
Several injuries were also reported during that meeting, including a worker being cut after a circular saw kicked back and a worker cutting his knee with a knife while cutting insulation at the east tunnel portal ramp.
Two reports of near misses included a subcontractor who fell while erecting a shoring tower at Hurdman station; his safety gear kicked in, preventing injury. The Labour Ministry was notified and RTG required the installation of fully planked platforms and guardrails to prevent it from happening again. The other near miss involved a turnbuckle fastener making contact on an electrified line, immediately cutting power to the line.
In February, a ministry inspector made 19 orders after reviewing the east tunnel portal and Rideau station. The inspector saw equipment operators not using restraining devices, a fork jammed into a key slot of a Skyjack machine and inadequate lighting.
Attendees of another meeting in March heard about more injuries, including a subcontractor losing his grip on a piece of equipment and striking his head. Another worker went for an X-ray after cutting his hand when it was stuck between the ground and a piece of equipment.
One participant at a May meeting noted washrooms had improved with the exception of one day when they were all removed at once. The scheduled cleaning day was affected by an “incident” that resulted in an evacuation, the minutes say.
Another meeting participant, who was part of a crew working on Parliament station, also noted “big improvements” on the site.
Minutes from another meeting in May indicate there were 10 workers in the tunnel on modified duties at the time. One near miss was reported at this meeting: Subcontractor workers were seen using an aluminum ladder on the train tracks within an energized area.
Then the washroom issue returned: A note in the minutes says, “Female workers won’t even use the toilets” when they’re provided by a particular supplier.
A June meeting included updates on more injuries: A worker fell while standing on a five-gallon pail and two workers received stitches on their faces — one while doing forming work and the other after he tripped and struck his chin on a guardrail. Another worker needed stitches after a grinder kicked back during pavement grinding.
One incident recorded in the June meeting ended up involving police. On June 23, a former worker confronted and threatened another worker performing traffic control near Parliament station. The former worker had been dismissed for “acts of violence.”
Another incident involved a rebar mat collapsing forward while workers were adjusting it. In another case, a gas line was struck during excavation at the uOttawa station.
Sean McKenny, president of the Ottawa and District Labour Council, acknowledged the job sites on major construction projects can be difficult environments for workers, but he said there can’t be complacency about safety.
“Safety needs to be a priority and often it is the assumption that people are going to get hurt that in fact causes people to get hurt and fatalities to happen,” McKenny said.
Earlier this week, Ontario Labour Minister Kevin Flynn said the ministry pays particular attention to large construction sites and he has seen nothing that would suggest the Ottawa LRT site is unsafe.
McKenny called the minster’s remarks “disappointing and surprising.” He pointed to the health and safety committee minutes and incident records that would be kept by the Labour Ministry as proof that people are working in an “unsafe workplace.”
At the same time, McKenny was pleased to hear the ministry is paying attention to the LRT project.
“There are a number of things happening almost every day and workers are worried about their safety,” McKenny said.
RTG, which has had as many as 1,100 people working across LRT line, said workers are encouraged to bring up issues of concern and the matters are noted, validated and followed up by the contractor and subcontractors.