Two workers were critically hurt when platform collapsed
Two companies and two individuals have been fined a combined $380,000 after pleading guilty to violations of the Occupational Health and Safety Act related to critical injuries sustained by two workers who fell down an elevator shaft.
The incident happened in April 2021 while work was being done on a high-rise residential tower in St. Catharines, Ontario. Homestead Lane Holdings Limited was the constructor on the project and it contracted Reimar Construction Corporation to perform concrete formwork.
Jose Martinho was the supervisor for Reimar Construction, and he assigned two workers to move and install formwork for the inner walls of the building’s elevator shaft from the 8th to the 9th floor.
They needed to install a platform in the elevator shaft to do the job. Martinho and the two workers received help from a crane operator to install and level the platform which was supported by beams that rested in pockets formed into the concrete elevator walls. But the workers struggled to align all the beams into their respective pockets.
The Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development says that’s when Martinho decided to install an additional bracket under one end of the support beams, because of concerns over the amount of bearing in that pocket.
“No engineering approval was obtained for the installation of the bracket, and the heads of the anchors that attached the bracket to the concrete, which did not fail, were too small for the opening in the bracket,” says the Ministry.
The platform was installed, levelled, and approximately 5,420-kilogram section of formwork was placed on it. The two workers also stepped onto the platform and began working. “The platform collapsed at one end, causing the workers to fall and become critically injured,” says the Ministry.
Section 89(2) of the Construction Regulation states the formwork and falsework, including the elevator platform, should have been designed by an engineer and performed in accordance with design drawings.
“Reimar was responsible for and did not obtain and provide site-specific drawings prepared by a professional engineer for the elevator shaft platform for the tower,” says the Ministry.
The following fines were imposed by Justice of the Peace Bruce Phillips.
- Homestead Land Holdings Limited- $150,000
- Reimar Construction Corporation- $200,000
- Jose Martinho, Supervisor, Reimar Construction Corporation- $15,000
- Miguel Martins, Director, Reimar Construction Corporation - $15,000
Homestead Land Holdings failed to meet its responsibilities as a constructor. Reimar Construction failed to meet its responsibilities as an employer. Martinho and Martins both failed in their duties as a supervisor and a director.
