Manitoba workers fined for lack of fall protection on Sask. site

Seven people from Manitoba have been charged for violating Saskatchewan's Occupational Health and Safety Act.
Dave Nicholson, operating as Dave’s Do It Right Construction, of Cypress River, Man., pleaded guilty to two counts under OHS legislation and was fined $2,520 in Estevan Provincial Court in Saskatchewan on April 7.

Dave Nicholson pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that workers used a fall protection system at a work area where a worker may fall three metres or more and was fined $1,000 with a $400 surcharge. He also plead guilty to failing to ensure that all work at a place of employment was sufficiently and competently supervised and was fined $800 with a $320 surcharge.

The charges relate to a workplace inspection which occurred in Estevan, Sask., on July 14, 2011. Two occupational health and safety officers observed workers working on a roof and an elevating platform without using fall protection equipment.

Kevin Sholdice, a supervisor at Dave’s Do It Right Construction, pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that workers under his direction complied with the Occupational Health and Safety Act and associated regulations and and was fined $600 with a $240 surcharge. He also pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that workers used a fall protection system at a work area where a worker may fall three metres or more and was fined $200 with a $50 surcharge.

In relation to the same incident, five workers also pleaded guilty to failing to comply with the Occupational Health and Safety Act and its associated regulations by failing to use a fall protection system at a work area where he could have fallen three metres or more. Three workers were each fined $600 with a $240 surcharge, and two workers were each fined $800 with a $320 surcharge.