Load fell off forklift, pinned worker
Conifex has been fined $191,600 for an incident that occurred at its Fort St. James, B.C. sawmill.
A worker was using a forklift to transfer rough-cut lumber from a pile to a planer. The lumber was unwrapped and stacked three loads high.
The worker exited the forklift between loads to remove dunnage from the top of the next load. The load collapsed and fell forward, pinning and injuring the worker.
WorkSafeBC inspected the site and determined that the lumber pile was on an unstable foundation of partially frozen soil, snow, and sawdust. Other lumber piles in the yard were observed to be similarly unstable and partially collapsing.
The firm failed to ensure that lumber piles were plumb, level and maintained in a stable condition. This was a high-risk violation.
Source: WorkSafeBC
