Two Greater Victoria companies have been fined for “high risk violations” involving heights and confined spaces on their work sites, according to WorkSafe B.C.
Verity Construction Ltd. and Verity Developments of Langford were fined $122,403 for failure to install guard rails on scaffolding used by workers on the sixth storey of a new building.
WorkSafe B.C. called it “a repeated and high-risk violation” when it issued a stop-work order and levied the penalty on Aug. 11.
The safety agency said it saw 4,050 claims related to injuries caused by falls from elevation at construction sites in 2021, including 497 serious injuries and six fatalities.
On Aug. 2, WorkSafe B.C. issued an $85,000 fine to Point Hope Maritime after an incident at the company’s dry dock on the Upper Harbour that resulted in the serious injury of a worker in a confined space.
The worker had been pressure washing inside a ferry and was found disoriented after a suspected fall.
WorkSafe B.C. determined there were multiple deficiencies in the firm’s confined-space entry program and issued a stop-work order.
“The firm failed to conduct an adequate hazard assessment for the confined space work activity, and failed to develop written procedures based on that assessment, both repeated violations,” WorkSafe B.C. said in a statement.
It also cited Point Hope Maritime for failing to conduct pre-entry testing and inspections and additional testing in a moderate-hazard atmosphere to ensure the worker’s safety.
The company also failed to ensure that workers were adequately trained in confined-space hazards and procedures, did not have a continuous way of summoning a standby person from inside the space, and failed to ensure the health and safety of all workers at its workplace, all of which were all high-risk violations, WorkSafe B.C. said.
Hazards in confined spaces can result in fire, explosion, unconsciousness, asphyxiation or drowning, said the agency, adding incidents can happen suddenly, often without any warning that something is wrong.
Last year, WorkSafe B.C. imposed 359 penalties totalling $7.9 million.
Companies can request a review of the penalties within 45 days, or can appeal decisions.
The amount of the penalties is usually based on the size of the company’s payroll and the nature of the violation, but penalties can be higher if violations are high risk or found to be intentional.
The maximum penalty amount set out in legislation is $710,500, and is adjusted every January.
