'The ground control zone is a designated area typically identified with barriers and/or red danger tape that workers and other persons should not enter'
Multiple safety standard violations contributed to the death of a worker who was struck by a falling crane load at a Vancouver mall construction site in February 2024, according to a WorkSafeBC investigation.
Yuridia Flores lost her life while working at a construction site in Vancouver’s Oakridge neighbourhood.
At the time of the incident, she was standing in what should have been a designated ground control zone, The Canadian Press (CP) reported, citing WorkSafeBC’s findings.
“The ground control zone is a designated area typically identified with barriers and/or red danger tape that workers and other persons should not enter,” WorkSafeBC said, according to the CP report.
According to WorkSafeBC, “several critical safety failures” are to blame for the incident. It noted that there were “no effective controls in place” and safety protocols were not followed, with workers often under suspended loads and entering ground control zones, CP wrote in a report posted in Winnipeg Sun.
WorkSafeBC also noted that Flores “had not received any training or instruction pertaining to ground control, traffic control or spotting,” according to CP.
In an email to CBC, a WorkSafeBC spokesperson said it is using the findings of the report to determine "appropriate enforcement action."
EllisDon – the prime contractor in the project – told CP that it had “not yet had the opportunity to present our position on these matters to WorkSafeBC.”
“We are firmly committed to providing a safety culture that prevents significant incidents from occurring in the future,” the company also said, according to the CP report.
Meanwhile, a lawyer for Newway Concrete Forming, the contractor that employed Flores, said the employer had already made changes to its inspections protocols and control zones operations, according to the report.
Following the death of Flores, the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 115, the union representing crane operators in B.C., called for stricter safety regulations for workers, according to a previous CBC report.
"Clearly, the safety regime isn't what it should be, and we lack the regulations to keep our construction sites safe," Josh Towsley, assistant business manager of the union, said in the report.
