After one of the most dangerous years in the city’s construction history, Calgary’s manager of building regulations has called on Alberta provincial officials to increase fines significantly for those companies found guilty of safety-code violations especially those, such as failing to secure building materials, that not only endanger workers, but the public at large.  He notes that the maximum $15,000 penalty for potentially deadly violations is significantly lower than for breaches of other safety laws, and doesn’t reflect the seriousness of the incidents.

This call comes in the wake of a series of incidents of falling debris that have occurred in the last year at high rise construction sites throughout Calgary, including falling steel that killed 3-year-old Michelle Krsek and injured an uncle last August.

The latest case being investigated by the city involves an online video, recorded last October but just recently discovered and passed on to authorities that was forwarded to city authorities, depicting construction workers with Skyway Canada horsing around recklessly on a Beltline tower. In the video (which has been removed from the YouTube video site), one worker actually tosses a metal clamp across scaffolds and jokes about the potential disaster if the tool had fallen and struck a passer-by. After learning of the video, Skyway Canada suspended two of the workers seen in the video. A third worker visible in the video had already left the company.

In addition to increased fines, city officials would also like to see greater reporting of incidents to the city. Currently, when near-misses or injuries occur, companies are required to report to the provincial Occupational Health and Safety office, but not to the city.  The city would like to see mandatory reporting to the city. The Calgary city council doesn’t have the legal authority to require such a thing, so the city is currently forced to rely on a voluntary reporting program for the city’s construction industry.

Several bystanders and Winnipeg firefighters are credited with saving the life of a worker for Winnipeg-based Fox Contracting who was pinned in a narrow trench under a 700-pound chunk of concrete last week.

At around 9 a.m., the worker was crouched in the hole, which was about half a metre wide and three metres deep,  as he worked to repair the foundation of a 105-year-old house in St. Boniface. Suddenly, a long, narrow piece of concrete broke off and fell on his back, trapping him in the hole.

Five bystanders, led by an infantryman who had just returned from Afghanistan, heard the cries of that worker and a co-worker, and worked quickly, tying a rope around the three-metres-long concrete slab, and used all their strength to lift it just enough to prevent it from crushing the worker. Though the rope kept slipping and caused some rope burns, they managed to hold on for at least ten minutes until Winnipeg Fire Department emergency personnel arrived on the scene.

As the bystanders held on, firefighters used a jack to lift the concrete slab slightly, then tied a second rope around it so as to lift it just enough for the worker to crawl to safety. At that point, two firefighters pulled the worker from the trench.

The worker was then taken to Health Sciences Centre, where he was in stable condition.

Police and Manitoba Workplace Safety and Health officials are investigating the incident.

The Ontario courts were busy last week, and in the space of four days, worker accidents cost three companies a lot of money.  Take a look at the details of each accident; every one of them was easily preventable with just some basic safety training and worker awareness.

1. In one case, elevator and escalator manufacturer Kone Inc. was fined $90,000 for a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act that caused a worker to be injured.

The fine was for an incident that occurred on September 11, 2008, when a worker was repairing an elevator circuit board at the University of Western Ontario. The worker stood on a ladder in the pit and shaft area of the elevator while the elevator’s power was still on. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the worker wasn’t using rubber gloves, mats, shields, or other equipment to protect against electrical shock. Of course, when the worker touched the back of the circuit board, the resultant electric shock caused him to fall to the concrete floor of the pit, resulting in wrist and facial fractures.

Kone Inc. pleaded guilty to failing to ensure the worker used rubber gloves, mats, shields and other protective equipment and procedures adequate to ensure protection from electrical shock and burns.

2.  In another case, a $60,000 fine was imposed on Tri City Materials Ltd., a company that works with aggregates, after it, too, pleaded guilty for a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act that caused an injury to a worker.

The incident that led to this fine occurred on December 30, 2008. A worker was cleaning out a trailer that acted as a hopper for various materials. Because the hopper’s chute needed power to stay open, the truck attached to the trailer was left running.  Unfortunately, when another worker shut off the truck during the cleaning process, the chute gate immediately closed and caught the worker’s leg.

A Ministry of Labour investigation found that the company’s procedure for safely cleaning the trailer required that it be locked out with its chute gate manually wedged open. They determined that the worker was improperly trained, and was unfamiliar with this procedure or the hazards associated with cleaning out the trailer.

Tri City Materials Ltd. pleaded guilty to failing to acquaint the worker with the hazards associated with cleaning out the trailer.

3. Within days of the above fines, Abitibi Consolidated Company of Canada, owner and operator of a paper mill in Fort Frances, was slapped with a $125,000 fine for their violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act for an accident that injured two workers and a student.

That incident occurred on August 20, 2008, when two of the paper mill’s electricians were changing the power box for part of a paper machine. In this case, the power to the box itself was locked out, but the power to the cabinet containing the box was not shut off or locked out. As the electricians removed the power box, they noticed a cable inside the cabinet that needed to be moved, so one of them reached into the cabinet with a metal tool to remove a clamp holding the cable in place. In doing so, the tool made electrical contact with a live conductor inside the cabinet, creating an arc flash, which in turn caused another arc flash from the live conductors overhead.

The accident caused both electricians to suffer first, second and third degree burns. At the same time, a student who was standing nearby and watching them suffered first degree burns.

Abitibi Consolidated Company of Canada pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that a tool was not used near a live electrical installation to prevent electrical contact with a live conductor.

In addition to the $275,000 in fines in the three cases above, the court also imposed a 25% victim fine surcharge, as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime. That puts the total cost to these three companies at more than $343,000, all for accidents that could have been prevented with a little health and safety awareness.

Proper health and safety training doesn’t cost. It pays.

It certainly pays to do a little research before signing on the dotted line…

It seems that a company has been calling small business owners in Nova Scotia and other parts of Canada, and causing them to scratch their heads and call the Department of Labour and Workforce Development for answers.

Numerous business owners have recently reported having been approached by a vendor claiming to offer a new training program based on what it claims are recent changes to the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System regarding the retraining of workers.

The problem is, of course, that the information they are giving is bogus. According to the government’s Occupational Health and Safety division leadership, there haven’t actually been any recent changes and they warn companies to be wary of anyone claiming to have information about new safety programs. While they note that any training that boosts awareness of occupational health and safety is good, business owners should use proper caution when evaluating training programs.

In many jurisdictions, any occupational health and safety service providers who provide people with inaccurate information could be subject to fines.

At least one union, The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), representing  more than 172,000 workers across Canada, has called upon the federal government to vote down a new piece of legislation because it fears the new law will “seriously undermine the right of federal workers to refuse dangerous work.”

They are specifically concerned with some of the new wording introduced in Part 21 of Bill C-9, an omnibus budget bill currently before the Senate National Finance Committee. Part 21 contains proposed amendments to the Canada Labour Code (CLC) so that the code will stipulate that a worker must file a notice of appeal with the Minister of Labour, as opposed to an appeals officer when that worker refuses work he or sheconsiders to be unsafe work, but is overruled by a health and safety officer. Based on the new wording in the legislation, the minister could then “appoint” an appeals officer whom he deems  qualified, whereas under the current code, his authority is to “designate” an appeals officer.

Union officials feel that the proposed amendments would change the definition of the appointment and functions of appeal officers. And while the difference may seem inconsequential on first glance, union officials note that the altered wording would result in significant changes to the process.  For example, the new wording could lead the minister to hire specialized lawyers on a case-by-case basis to serve as appeals officers, rather than the public servants who currently fulfill the appeals function full time. The union worries about the ability of an appointed appeals officer to be impartial and to deal with an issue objectively.

A spokesperson with Human Resources and Skills Development Canada suggests, however, that the appointment of outside experts will actually  serve to “strengthen the independence and impartiality of the appeals process” and streamline the process “to make it more efficient and timely.” Employers and employees will still have the right to appeal decisions, and that employees will still have the right to refuse dangerous work.”

The final results for Roadcheck 2010, the annual North American roadside safety inspection blitz, were roughly the same as those of Roadcheck 2009, showing that 80% of commercial vehicles inspected successfully passed.

The annual event, which was conducted by enforcement agencies in Canada, the US and Mexico from June 8-10, is coordinated each year by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) in partnership with CCMTA member-jurisdictions.

While the average vehicle out-of-service rate of 20.0% is slightly higher than the 17.8% recorded last year, event organizers say this year’s figure continues an overall downward trend in the national OOS rate over the past several years. The average Canadian vehicle out-of-service rate in 2010 was just slightly higher than the North American average at 20.3%.

Inspections were conducted at 158 sites across Canada, covering all jurisdictions. Those vehicles without a valid inspection decal  were subjected to the most rigorous CVSA on-road inspection procedures. Overall, over three days, 7,311 vehicles and drivers underwent full inspections for mechanical and driver fitness, with 5,848 vehicles and 7,112 drivers passing. In all, 1,434 trucks, 29 passenger-carrying vehicles and 199 drivers were put out of service for various safety defects and violations, ranging from simple infractions such as a rear signal light not working to dangerous infractions, such as steering or brake problems. Other defects cited included wheels, tires, frame and load security. Often, drivers were able to make the necessary adjustments on site, and be re-inspected, passed and sent on their way.  In addition, 2.7% of drivers were placed out of service for logbook, driver qualification or paperwork problems, which actually represented a slight improvement over past figures.

Inspectors issued 6,911 new decals to individual trucks, trailers and passenger-carrying vehicles across Canada. The decals signify CVSA’s highest degree of safety and mechanical fitness.

Since brake-related defects continue to account for close to half of all out-of-service violations, CVSA Region V officials are encouraging governments, industry associations and individual carriers and drivers to take an active part in the upcoming 2010 Brake Safety Week Sept. 12-18.

As several recent stories have reminded us, working around electricity is nothing to take lightly; proper, thorough training is a must to avoid needless tragedy. And everyone should agree that the electrical industry is an inherently hazardous industry, and it’s in everyone’s best interest to stress safety on the job. To that end, executives at Nova Scotia Power and officials with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers jointly signed the CEO Health and Safety Leadership Charter. The charter was launched in 2005 and is administered by the Conference Board of Canada, and has a goal of supporting continuous workplace health and safety improvement.  The charter has been signed by about 250 organizations across Canada. By signing the charter, employers and employees pledge to make safety the number one priority in the workplace.
Both the company and the union praised the charter as a symbolic commitment to health and safety by both. In signing it, they hope to encourage other organizations in Nova Scotia to consider ways to make their own workplaces safer.

In a press release touting the signing of the charter, the company cited a number of safety milestones, including a million person-hours without a lost-time injury for the more than 500-person customer operations team. This team isn’t just office personnel; it includes control centre workers, planners, engineers, fleet operations, vegetation management (they clear trees and bushes away from power lines) and power line technicians. The company also announced a public awareness campaign to educate Nova Scotians about the dangers of working around electrical wires and encouraging people to stay at least six metres back from power lines.

Nova Scotia’s minister for labour and workplace development, Marilyn More, praised the efforts of Nova Scotia Power and IBEW to create a culture of workplace safety. She also noted that Nova Scotia had improved its health and safety record overall, including a7% drop in the number of claims registered with the Workers’ Compensation Board between 2004 and 2008. That drop was double the national average. In addition, lost-time claims in the province dropped 12%, compared to 9.6% nationally. She noted that Nova Scotia still has a lot of work to do, since they still have the highest injury rate in the Atlantic region and they fifth among the provinces.

It’s been a pretty hot summer so far, and we’re not even halfway through, so perhaps this is would be a good time to remind you to take special precautions on scorching hot summer days, in order to keep your workers safe and productive.  The higher the temperature goes, the less comfortable workers feel, which makes them more prone to accidents and also causes them to slow down a bit. But just as importantly, excessive heat can be extremely dangerous, and building a culture of safety requires that you keep your workers as safe as possible.

If possible, try to reduce the demand on each worker by reducing  the level of physical exertion such as excessive lifting, climbing, or digging. If possible, try to use relief workers or assign extra workers.  Try to reschedule the most strenuous activities jobs for the cooler part of the day and reserve the hottest part of the day for routine maintenance and repair work.

For those workers who must work outside during the hot part of the day, they should wear light, very loose-fitting clothing, with long sleeves and long pants, in order to avoid serious UV damage from the sun.  For areas of the body that are still exposed, such as faces, hands and necks, be sure to have adequate supplies of good quality sunscreen on hand as well.

Make sure all outside workers are provided with plenty of water. And that should be water, as sugary drinks and drinks with caffeine actually cause faster dehydration. They should also be given plenty of breaks during which they can drink the water. It is far more beneficial to drink small amounts of water at frequent intervals than to drink a lot of water all at once. If the work is particularly strenuous and is performed in direct sunlight, try to provide a shady area or tent, where workers can sit down, drink some water and recharge.

If your workers are toiling away in an area with a combination of high temperature and high humidity,  be aware of the increased risk to such workers of heat stroke or heat exhaustion. In addition to workers who don’t take adequate breaks or drink enough water, pay close attention to workers who take certain medications, older workers or workers who are not in peak physical condition, as they are especially susceptible to complications from heat-related stress.

Some of the warning signs for heat-related illness include headaches, lightheadedness, confusion, irrational behavior, loss of consciousness, abnormally high body temperature and hot, dry skin.  When a worker starts to complain that he or she isn’t feeling well, you would do well to take the complain seriously and sit that worker down in the shade with a cup of water and let them recover.

Other potential risks to the health of workers toiling outdoors in summer aren’t necessarily heat-related. It might be a good idea to have workers regularly check for ticks, which sometimes carry Lyme Disease. Be sure to watch out for mosquitoes, which can carry West Nile Virus, and plants, such as poison oak and poison ivy, that can cause skin rashes and make it difficult to work.

Police in Lambton, Ontario stopped a truck driver at around 11:30 a.m. July 7 after a passing motorist reported that the tractor-trailer was weaving “all over the road,” according to a statement by the Ontario Provincial Police.

What police found after they stopped the 58-year-old trucker from Kitchener was one for the books. Apparently, the reason the  truck was weaving because the man was trying to perform self-dentistry, attempting to pull an aching tooth.

To accomplish this tooth-pulling feat, he had tied one end of the string to his tooth, and another to the roof of the truck’s cab. According to police, he was waiting for “one good bump” to yank the tooth out of his mouth.

Needless to say, police cited the truck driver for careless driving.

By the way, his little dentistry experiment apparently worked. When police stopped him, the string and his bloody tooth laid next to him on his seat.

The mayor of Windsor, Ontario, Eddie Francis, declared a state of emergency July 8 after a parking garage collapsed at about 10:40 a.m., crushing numerous cars and sending one person to hospital. The state of emergency allowed the city access to provincial emergency response teams to delve into the wreckage to help search for any victims.

According to witnesses, the only man injured was the operator of a boom truck near a building entrance. He was using the boom truck to prepare for the commencement of building maintenance work when the pavement under his truck gave way. The collapse caused the operator to be thrown from his cab, and he was hanging by his safety belt when rescue workers arrived at the scene. They quickly used a pulley system to lift him to safety, fitted him with a neck brace and transported him to hospital.

Search dogs and a camera-equipped robot combed through the rubble of the underground structure to look for victims. Thankfully, the dogs found no one in the lower levels.

The aftermath of the collapse was a remarkable sight, according to witnesses. Several vehicles that had been parked on the ground level were leaning into the hole, while others sat precariously on yellow steel pillars. As time passed, the hole slowly grew bigger and the cars slid farther in.

A nearby apartment building was evacuated as a precaution, with tenants put up in nearby hotels until the building could be declared safe.

Municipal officials refused to speculate on the cause of the accident, but noted that the parking lot had a lot of cars, and that the likely cause was that the structure wasn’t capable of handling the load. The boom truck weighs about 10,000 kilograms.