Company pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that workers in a trench more than 1.2 metres deep were protected
An excavation company has been fined $58,100 after a trench collapse near Parkdale, Sask., left a worker seriously injured.
Triple 7 Excavating Ltd. was sentenced in North Battleford Provincial Court on Dec. 18, after pleading guilty to two violations of Saskatchewan’s occupational health and safety regulations, according to a report from 650 CKOM.
The Saskatchewan Ministry of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety said the convictions stem from a June 28, 2022 incident “near the rural municipality of Parkdale, Saskatchewan,” where “a worker was seriously injured when a trench collapsed,” 650 CKOM reported.
Safety violations
Court records cited by 650 CKOM show the company admitted it failed “to give notice to the division as soon as reasonably possible of an incident at a place of employment that required a worker to be admitted to a hospital as an in-patient for a period of 72 hours or more.” The province requires employers to report serious incidents promptly so they can be investigated by safety officials.
Triple 7 Excavating also pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that workers in a trench more than 1.2 metres deep were protected from cave-ins or sliding material, as required under Saskatchewan’s occupational health and safety regulations, CKOM News reported.
One additional charge against the company was stayed.
The court imposed a fine of $41,500 on Triple 7 Excavating, along with a victim fine surcharge of $16,600, for a total financial penalty of $58,100, according to 650 CKOM.
No further details about the injured worker’s condition or any remedial measures taken by the company were released in the report.
According to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS), WorkSafe Saskatchewan describes a temporary protective structure as any device used in an excavation, trench, tunnel, or shaft to guard against cave-ins, collapse, or moving materials. This includes shoring, trench boxes, trench shields, and similar systems.
- Shoring - Shoring supports trench or excavation walls using aluminium, steel, or wood panels held in place by screws or hydraulic jacks. Some systems can be installed from outside the trench, providing added safety. Wherever possible, shoring should be installed as digging progresses. If there is a delay between excavation and shoring, no one should enter the unprotected trench.
- Trench boxes - Trench boxes are typically used in open areas, away from utilities, roads, and foundations. They protect workers from cave-ins but do not, by themselves, support trench walls. Walls can be supported if the gap between the box and soil is backfilled and compacted. Workers must not remain inside when the box is being moved.
- Rock support - Where trench or excavation walls are in unstable rock, they should be reinforced using rock bolts, wire mesh, or an equivalent support method.
