'These regulations will give us more information on where and when tower cranes are in use across the province and ensure they are operated by qualified workers'
WorkSafeBC is investigating a crane incident in Vancouver's Oakridge neighbourhood, just two days after new provincial regulations for tower cranes came into effect, according to a CBC report.
The incident occurred at the Oakridge Park redevelopment site, located on the 600 block of West 41st Avenue, at around 2 p.m. PT on Wednesday.
WorkSafeBC was notified of the incident and promptly sent an officer to the site to investigate. While the investigation is ongoing, no specific details of the incident have been released, and fortunately, no injuries were reported.
This comes after, on Tuesday, new provincial regulations came into effect. The new regulations aim to enhance safety and oversight for tower crane operations. These rules require employers to provide WorkSafeBC with a notice of project (NOP) before erecting, climbing, repositioning, or dismantling a tower crane, and to ensure a qualified supervisor is in place.
Employers must also inform the agency about the timing of the work, who is supervising it, and the supervisor’s qualifications.
"These regulations will give us more information on where and when tower cranes are in use across the province and ensure they are operated by qualified workers," a WorkSafeBC spokesperson said, according to the CBC report.
Earlier this year, WorkSafeBC conducted a safety review in response to multiple crane incidents, which led to the implementation of these new regulations. As part of a broader crane safety strategy, WorkSafeBC is also considering improvements to the crane operator certification program and expanding its crane inspection team.
