Worker falls from roof of a two-storey commercial building
Ontario employers New Horizon Development Group (Waterdown) Inc. and TKEM Electric Ltd. have been fined a total of $230,000 after a workplace fatality.
Following guilty pleas in the Provincial Offences Court in Hamilton, New Horizon was fined $130,000 by Justice of the Peace Sharon Floyd and TKEM Electric was fined $100,000 by Justice of the Peace Charles Kissi.
The incident happened on Aug. 16, 2022, when an electrician was running wire to the roof of a two-storey commercial building under construction.
While on the roof, the worker suffered a fatal fall to the ground below.
The roof had a parapet wall along its perimeter, but there was no temporary fencing or guarding at the roof’s edge, according to the Ontario government.
Also, access to this part of the roof was from a stairwell that was not locked. And the stairwell and roof had no signs warning about the fall hazard.
“New Horizon failed, as a constructor, to ensure there were warning signs of the fall hazard on the roof as required by section 23(1)(a) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act,” said the Ontario government.
Also, “TKEM Electric Ltd. failed, as an employer, to provide the worker with information, instruction or supervision related to the fall hazard posed by the roof’s edge, as required by section 25(2)(a) of the Act,” said the government.
The Provincial Offences Court in Hamilton also imposed a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge on both New Horizon and TKEM Electric as required by the Provincial Offences Act, to be credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.
Falls are common causes of serious work related injuries and deaths, according to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS).
“Fall protection planning can help to eliminate the hazards or control the risks associated with working near openings or at heights,” it said.
It noted that employers have a responsibility to:
- Develop written fall protection policy and procedures relevant for the workplace.
- Identify all areas where there is a potential of injury due to fall.
- Prioritize using passive fall arrest systems, such as guardrails, travel restraint, or fall-restricting systems over only relying on personal fall arrest systems.
- Develop fall arrest rescue procedures which detail how to return workers safely to the ground after a fall has been arrested.
- Educate and train workers and supervisors to understand and properly fulfill their role in fall protection and prevention. Workers should have easy access to policies and procedures so the directions can be reviewed when needed.
- Make sure workers are instructed in all of the fall-protection methods or systems used and, in the post-fall rescue procedure before being allowed into an area where there is a risk of falling.
- Make sure the fall-arresting system consists of the required components, including full body harness, self-retracting lanyard, energy absorbing lanyard or lanyard and energy absorber, and appropriate anchor point or horizontal life line.
- Make sure all protective equipment, clothing or devices are provided, used, and maintained in good condition.
- Make sure PPE is used effectively according to the policies and procedures, legal requirements, and the manufacturer's specifications.
- Review and amend the fall protection plan when necessary, on a regular schedule.
- Review and amend the fall protection plan after relevant workplace changes.
- Review and improve the fall protection plan after each fall or near-miss incident.
