Top 5 WorkSafeBC fines in Tri-Cities for 2024

The top five WorkSafeBC in the Tri-Cities totalled nearly $260,000 in 2024.

Administrative penalties are imposed by the WorkSafeBC for health and safety violations that can put employees at risk of injury.

This year’s naughty list contains two construction companies, two roofing companies, and a property management company.

Femo Construction Ltd., $167,890, July 16, Coquitlam

WorkSafeBC visited the company’s Coquitlam construction site after a tower crane came into contact with a high-voltage power line.

Inspectors found the crane’s zone limiting device was not functioning, its remote control had been left unattended and there were no training records available for the crane’s operators.

The opticrane limiter – which is an anti-collision safety system meant to provide operators with early warnings – failed to engage, and its alloy chains hit high-voltage lines, cutting off power to nearby properties.

WorksafeBC said the company failed to ensure workers were properly informed of the proper procedures, describing it as a repeated and high-risk violation.

This is Femo’s first administrative penalty list on WorkSafeBC’s website.

Allaire Construction Inc., $32,146, Oct. 29, Coquitlam

Inspectors found multiple safety violations when it visited the contractor’s site at a residential complex last fall.

The company failed to ensure objects were secured from falling from elevated areas, or make sure these areas were guarded, potentially endangering workers on site, according to WorkSafeBC.

Traffic controllers were also not properly positioned or supervised contrary to regulatory requirements.

As the prime contractor of the multiple-employer workplace, WorkSafeBC said the firm failed to ensure health and safety activities were coordinated.

WorkSafeBC described the violations as repeated and high risk. Allaire has been hit with three fines from the province since 2014, totalling more than $60,000.

Cascadia Apartment Rentals Ltd., $26,603, Nov. 21, Coquitlam

WorkSafeBC inspectors issued a stop-work order to this property management company for sloppy asbestos containment procedures.

Inspectors visited the company’s apartment building as it underwent renovation work last fall.

They found there was no asbestos inventory, no hazardous-materials survey, and no asbestos-control plan in place.

A survey conducted later confirmed that drywall with asbestos materials had been disturbed during the work.

WorkSafeBC found the company failed to ensure a qualified person inspected the worksite before work began, and failed to ensure workers at risk of exposure were adequately trained. Both are considered high risk violations.

This was Cascadia’s first WorkSafeBC fine.

Aeri.J Roofing Inc., $20,000, Oct. 17, Port Coquitlam

The company was re-roofing a two-story townhouse complex when inspectors observed a lack of safety equipment for its workers.

Four workers were seen on the sloped roof, and while all were wearing fall-protection harnesses, they were not connected to their lifelines, exposing them to a 20-foot fall. 

Inspectors also found that some of their lifelines were damaged or missing required labels. These were all repeated and high-risk violations, WorkSafeBC said.

Aeri.J Roofing has received 5 WorkSafeBC fines since 2019, totalling $38,750.

SOV Roofing & Waterproofing Inc./SOV Construction, $12,658, Oct. 17, Port Moody

WorkSafeBC inspectors visited a Port Moody multi-storey residential complex under construction, and found workers exposed to potentially dangerous fall.

Two SOV employees were doing torch-on work near an unguarded leading edge on the second floor with no form of fall protection in place, risking a 30-foot drop.

The company failed to ensure procedures were followed, or that workers received proper information, instruction, training and supervision, WorkSafeBC said. It also failed to have a written fall-protection plan in place for the worksite. Both were repeated and high-risk violation. 

This was SOV’s first WorkSafeBC fine.