WorkSafeBC dishes out penalties after finding firms were putting workers at risk
WorkSafeBC has charged three employers in British Columbia for fall protection violations in the workplace.
AM PM Landscaping & Tree Service Ltd., which was removing fire-damaged trees from a construction site in Langley, was fined $2,500.
WorkSafeBC inspected the site and determined that the firm had felled trees while workers on the ground had been nearby.
“The firm failed to ensure that, before a tree was felled, all workers were clear of an area within a two tree-length radius of the tree, a high-risk violation,” according to WorkSafeBC.
The firm also failed to ensure that workers conducting falling work were qualified to do so - a repeated violation, it said.
Northern Sky Roofing Inc. is also being fined $2,500 for violations it committed when it was re-roofing a two-storey house in West Kelowna.
At that time, two workers, one of whom was a supervisor, were near the peak of the sloped roof with no fall protection in place, exposing the workers to a fall risk up to 4 m (13 ft.).
“The firm failed to ensure fall protection was used, a repeated and high-risk violation. The firm also failed to provide its workers with the information, instruction, training, and supervision necessary to ensure their health and safety,” said WorkSafeBC.
Earlier, Suncoast Logging Ltd. was fined $34,179.30 as one of its line log loaders (super snorkel) was travelling on a resource road and the loader's boom made contact with and snapped a power line.
The snorkel sustained significant damage and the snapped power line caused a ground fire.
“The firm failed to ensure that workers were informed of the location of high-voltage electrical equipment before starting work, and failed to ensure that workers maintained the minimal clearance distance from exposed electrical equipment. These were both high-risk violations,” said WorkSafeBC. “The firm also failed to provide its workers with the information, instruction, training, and supervision necessary to ensure their health and safety.”
Previously, WorkSafeBC also cited several employers for fall protection violations and for violations relating to asbestos-containing materials.
