A Surrey construction firm got hit with a substantial monetary penalty after one of its employees lost consciousness after exposure to carbon monoxide.
According to a WorkSafeBC penalty summary about the violation, the Surrey construction firm in question is called Industra Construction Corp, which had a work site in the Township of Langley.
WorkSafeBC conducted an investigation at the work site in response to the worker losing consciousness.
After the investigation, WorkSafeBC determined that the worker, whilst being under supervision, was exposed to “hazardous levels” of carbon monoxide. According to WorkSafeBC, the exposure occurred after the worker was using a gas-powered saw to remove a pipe in an excavation that was classified as a confined space.
WorkSafeBC outlines its OHS rules and regulations about work in confined spaces on its website.
The investigation determined that the Langley construction firm failed to ensure that hazards were eliminated or minimized in this confined space and that the firm failed ot provide its workers with the information, instruction, training and supervision required to “ensure their health and safety.”
The summary amounted to two high-risk violations, and the firm was fined $63,766.63 in total.
In a separate incident in Penticton, B.C., a plumbing and heating supplies distributor named Andrew Sheret Limited was fined $521,694.
WorkSafeBC says that it inspected the firm’s retail and warehouse worksite and found non-compliant and damaged storage racks that were being used.
“The firm failed to ensure storage racks were used in accordance with the specifications of the manufacturer or a professional engineer, a repeated violation. The firm also failed to ensure storage racks were installed by a qualified person according to the manufacturer’s or an engineer’s instructions. These were both high-risk violations,” WorkSafeBC said.