In the wake of a four-day inquest into the death of 65-year-old worker Ulderico Iannucci, who was killed three years ago in an accident at the Thomas Fuller construction site behind Parliament Hill in Ottawa, a six-member coroner’s jury has made six recommendations for safety measures to be used when operating a backhoe.

The accident happened on August 19, 2005, as Iannucci was using the rear bucket of the backhoe to compact trash. The machine suddenly engaged and crashed through a chain link fence before hitting a curb and careening toward a stone and wrought-iron retaining wall, on which several other workers had been sitting. Iannucci was standing and apparently trying to regain control of the machine at this point, when the front bucket and tires crashed through the stone wall, which sat atop a steep escarpment above the Ottawa River. The machine seemed to “stall” for a moment, as the rear wheels gained traction and sent the backhoe over the edge. Iannucci tried to escape from the backhoe’s rear window before it disappeared over the cliff, eventually landing on a public walkway below.

A forensic pathologist testified that the cause of Iannucci’s death was multiple traumas to the head and chest with a near separation of the brain and spinal cord. Most workers characterized Iannucci as a safe and conscientious worker, but while he was licensed to operate a boom truck, a supervisor noted that he did not have, nor was he required to have, a license to operate the backhoe.

Among the recommendations made by the coroner’s jury are; a requirement that backhoe operators be required to take a provincially certified operator course with an emphasis on safety procedures; a requirement that construction companies ensure all employees have the required certification to operate backhoes; that an emergency kill switch to disengage power be installed in all backhoes; that the seats of backhoes be put in a locked position and the operator’s seatbelt be fastened before the machine can move forward; and that the backhoe’s transmission must be in neutral before the boom can be operated.

The chief coroner of Ontario distributes the jury’s findings to people, agencies or ministries of government that may be able to implement them, but a coroner’s jury recommendations are not binding.

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Perhaps they should be.

When it comes to the workplace safety olympics, B.C. Place Stadium isn’t exactly a gold medal winner, based on their current record.

In just the first five and a half months of 2009, WorkSafeBC cited Vancouver’s Olympics stadium for workplace safety violations a whopping 66 times. According to inspection reports on the stadium, which was first opened in 1983 and will be the site of the 2010 Olympics’ Opening and Closing Ceremonies, the site is failing to perform to even the most basic standards of safety.

Reports have, at various times, deemed the operators of the air-supported roof as poorly trained; reported the lack of a fall protection plan for areas in which workers were not protected by permanent guardrails; reported that a sound and lighting truss hanging from the roof was unsafe; reported that there was no risk assessment done for workplace violence; and reported that there was no plan in place to protect first aid workers and cleaning staff from contact with blood or bodily fluids. There were also numerous complaints of inadequate safety training, especially for younger workers.

Among the reports of injury included a worker who had been overcome by epoxy fumes in January and the near-electrocution of another worker in March.

In an attempt to correct the problems before the Olympics, stadium operations and engineering supervisors were fired June 25. On July 7, control room workers who were doubling as security guards were told to choose between the jobs, transfer to another department, or opt for a lump-sum severance package.

If Vancouver is to have a first class Olympic experience, they should work harder to make sure those working the games are properly trained for the safety of everyone involved.

Quebec-based logistics services provider Katoen Natie Canada was fined $70,000 last week in the Ontario Court of Justice for a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) after a worker was injured in an incident in Corunna. Ontario.

The incident in question occurred on June 21, 2007, at the company’s warehouse in Corunna. At that time, a forklift operator was using an electric reach truck to lift and pull cartons from storage racks. When the worker backed into a steel rack, the worker’s leg was broken when it became trapped between the truck and the racking.

A Ministry of Labour investigation found that the worker was a certified lift truck operator, but was not certified for the machinery involved in the incident. It was also determined that worker’s supervisor was not monitoring the worker at the time of the incident.

Katoen Natie Canada pleaded guilty under the OHSA, specifically Ontario Regulation 851, Section 51(2)(a), to failing, as an employer, to ensure the worker was competent to operate the lifting device or was accompanied by a competent person while operating the lifting device.

The fine was imposed by Justice of the Peace Marsha Miskokomon. In addition to the fine, the court imposed a 25-per-cent victim fine surcharge on the total, as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.

According to Quebec’s workers’ compensation board, the Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CSST), gaps in training and a deficient occupational health and safety program was the main cause of an accident last year near James Bay that claimed the life of one young worker and seriously injured another.

The CSST report charged the employer, Fernand Gilbert ltée, with failing to protect the health and safety of its workers, in an incident that took place on January 11, 2008, while working on part of the $2 billion Rupert River diversion project. The two workers were replacing a rear wheel on a 50-ton dump truck in the company’s service area. They placed the wheel on its axle and partially filled the tire, then proceeded to fasten it with screws. Suddenly, the tire exploded, sending both workers flying. As a result, David Girard, 22, sustained fatal injuries to his head, while the other worker was seriously injured.

The CSST investigation found that even though replacing a truck tire requires high-level technical knowledge, the two workers had received very little training on the proper procedures, and had never received written instructions at any point. The workers were completely unaware of the dangers of inflating a tire that is less than 80 per cent full without first removing the wheel and inspecting it thoroughly.

The investigation also found that the employer was aware of the risks involved in replacing truck tires; its own safety program specified that a safety cage be used when replacing tires, although no cage was available on site. Fernand Gilbert has 30 days to contest the charges, after which a judge will decide on a fine between $5,000 and $20,000.

In a report released by the Transportation Safety Board last week, a derailment and explosion in a CN Rail marshaling yard in Prince George in August 2007 is being blamed on a lack of training among managers and rail cars that were too heavy. The report found that managers operating a remote control switching system when the explosion occurred weren’t properly trained for the duties they were performing.

According to a board investigator, although management employees were considered qualified for their jobs from a regulatory perspective, they were “inadequately trained and had no experience switching long, heavy cuts of cars on this particular piece of track.”

The accident occurred when a CN supervisor lost control of a 53-car remote controlled train, which struck another train pulling cars loaded with gasoline. The crash caused a derailment, explosion and fire.

Essentially, the excessive weight of the 53 cars, and the descending track gradient exceeded the braking capacity of the trains. While no one was hurt, 172,000 litres of gasoline and diesel spilled, most of which burned in the fire.

The company has denied the board’s finding that the employees were inadequately trained, and they claim to have been working diligently since the derailment to improve the safety of its railroad and employees, according to a spokesman.

The board also found that a risk assessment conducted immediately prior to the accident was inadequate to identify the hazards and mitigate the risks of switching long, heavy cuts of car sets on the pull-back track’s descending grade. While the board report made no formal recommendations, it said “the practice of temporarily assigning management employees to do the work of experienced operating employees may increase the risk of accidents.”

This time, it was only gasoline, apparently in the middle of nowhere. But what if the accident had occurred closer to a town, or even at a highway crossing? This is a great example of why training at all levels is an absolute necessity.

Due to the large snow storms and accumulations we are seeing the use of skidsteers cleaning driveways entrances and sidewalks this season. I am amazed that most of these operators have never been trained! How can you tell they are not trained? It their actions while operating. If any of the wheels are off the ground then they have not been trained! If you backdrag and lift your front wheels off you affect stability, traction, visibility..the list goes on. And if your rear wheels are off the ground you lose stability, traction, maneuverability, visibility, power, versatility…. well you get the idea. If the operator has not been trained what else could you or are you willing to lose?