'The firm had written fall protection procedures but they were not effectively applied at the worksite'
The lack of supervision in the workplace played a huge role in the death of one worker in British Columbia a couple of years ago, according to findings from WorkSafeBC.
The incident happened on May 23, 2022 at 5255 N Fraser Way – the site of a massive warehouse under construction now leased by Amazon, according to a report from Burnaby NOW.
On that day, the worker was seated on a steel beam, 55 feet up, installing bolts into the beams on the highest level of the three-storey, steel-frame structure.
At around 2:30 p.m., the worker stood up. He took three steps on the beam and, on the last step, fell to the surface below.
“Within minutes, multiple workers reacted to the incident by contacting 911, providing [the worker] with first aid, and securing the scene,” said WorkSafeBC.
The worker sustained fatal injuries.
In June, WorkSafe fined the project's prime contractor, Beedie Construction Ltd., $249,216.71 and the worker's employer, Supermétal Construction Inc., $24,465.77 in relation to the worker's death.
In its report, WorkSafeBC noted that Beedie “often left it up to the workers themselves to adhere to safety procedures” and “often did not scrutinize the work being carried out on the third level of the structure to ensure compliance”.
“The firm had written fall protection procedures but they were not effectively applied at the worksite. Supermétal did not have an effective system in place to correct unsafe practices. As a result, unsafe work practices were permitted to develop, such as workers not using fall protection equipment, which exposed workers to the hazard of falls from elevation,” said WorkSafeBC.
WorkSafeBC also found flaws in the construction sites safety equipment.
“The third level of the steel-frame warehouse, where [the worker] was positioned at the time of the incident, had a horizontal lifeline system in place. However, the system had gaps where workers had to unclip from the lifeline to traverse beams. These deficiencies posed risks to workers on the third level but did not contribute to the incident.”
Other findings of the WorkSafeBC report are available here.
