A Vancouver company building a multi-storey residential complex in Victoria has been fined $43,359.04 for failing to provide fall protection for an employee.
WorkSafeBC said the VPAC Construction Group was fined for a “high-risk and repeated violation” on the job site. One of the company’s workers was seen by WorkSafe inspectors doing a roof sheeting job without any fall protection, exposing the worker to a potential fall of 6.7 metres, or about 22 feet.WorkSafe said construction jobs have the highest injury rates, about 3.37 per 100 workers — higher than the overall provincial workplace average of 2.24.
Fall protection failures over the past five years in B.C. resulted in 5,893 injuries, including 28 deaths. Last year, WorkSafe issued 164 penalties totalling $1.027 million.