Two Greater Victoria companies received fines in August from WorkSafeBC for high-risk violations.
Point Hope Maritime Ltd. of Victoria was issued an administrative penalty of $84,999.31 on Aug. 2 for a confined space incident which seriously injured a worker.
WorkSafe visited the company’s dry dock following the incident where the worker had been pressure washing inside a bay of a ferry and was found disoriented after a suspected fall.
Investigators determined there were multiple deficiencies in the company’s confined space entry program and issued a stop-work order. Deficiencies included a failure to conduct an adequate hazard assessment and develop written procedures based on that assessment, both repeat violations, according to a news release.
The company also failed to conduct pre-entry testing and inspections, conduct additional testing in a moderate hazard atmosphere, failed to ensure workers were properly trained in confined space hazards and procedures, failed to ensure there was a way for workers to contact a standby person from inside the confined space, and generally failed to ensure the health and safety of workers.
Verity Construction Ltd./Verity Developments of Langford was issued an administrative penalty of $122,403 on Aug. 11.
WorkSafe inspected the company’s construction site and saw a scaffold tower being used by workers to access the sixth level. No guardrails were in place and a stop-use order was issued for the scaffolding.
The company failed to ensure elevated work areas had hand or guardrails installed, a repeated and high-risk violation, according to the release.
READ MORE: 161 deaths: B.C. remembers those lost to workplace injuries, disease in 2021
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