Top 6 WorkSafeBC fines in the Tri-Cities in 2023

The top 6 WorkSafeBC fines issued in the Tri-Cities totalled more than $400,000 in 2023.

Companies in food manufacturing, property restoration, and construction industries all made the list, three of which had received WorkSafe fines before.

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

1. Beedie Construction: $297,647

One worker had to be hospitalized last March after Beedie Construction failed to ensure carbon monoxide didn’t exceed exposure limits at an Austin Avenue job site, according to a WorkSafeBC report.

“Although only one worker was injured, other workers may have been injured at this workplace,” the report stated.

Workers were doing a “final cleaning” of the six-level parkade at the 1045 Austin Avenue highrise on March 22.

One worker started using a gas-powered pressure washer at about 7 a.m. At approximately 10:30 a.m., a worker was found collapsed in the parkade.

First-aid was administered and emergency responders were called to the site.

“Coquitlam Fire and Rescue measured carbon monoxide levels of approximately 555 parts per million,” according to the report.

There were eight workers at the job site during the inspection, according to WorkSafeBC.

2. Nutri-Nation Functional Foods: $55,427

Nutri-Nation Functional Foods is a food manufacturing company with a facility in Port Coquitlam, which WorkSafeBC attended after a worker sustained serious injuries.

The employee has been scraping dough off the inside of a mixing machine, which was still turned on, resulting in the worker being caught in the agitator.

An investigation revealed the machine lacked guards, had not been locked out, and the emergency stop button was out of the employee’s reach.

It was also determined the employee lacked proper orientation and training regarding safe work procedures for cleaning the mixer.

WorkSafeBC found the company failed to ensure there were property safety protocols for the power equipment like stopping controls; failed to provide information, instruction, and supervision necessary for health and safety; and failed to inform new workers of the hazards they might be facing.

All are deemed high-risk violations.

3. Phoenix Restorations: $42,026

The Coquitlam-based property restoration company, Phoenix Restorations, was visited by WorkSafeBC inspectors following the collapse of an engineered scaffold.

An apartment building in Port Coquitlam had suffered fire damage, and the company was hired for the renovation work.

A scaffold, which had been erected to act as a temporary roof for the building, collapsed under the weight of snow which had accumulated on top of it.

WorkSafeBC found that the company did not follow the engineers instructions, which specified that heaters or frequent snow removal were required to prevent such incidents.

This was deemed a high-risk violation, and a stop-work order was issued for the site.

4. Great Mann Construction: $5,048

The Delta-based construction firm was fined after WorkSafeBC inspectors visited its worksite in Coquitlam.

The company was framing a two-storey housing, when inspectors observed a worker standing on a plank spanning two sections of roof 15-feet above the ground with no fall protection.

WorkSafeBC found the company had failed to ensure its workers take proper safety precautions and failed to provide proper information, instruction, training, and supervision.

These were repeated and high-risk violations, according to WorkSafeBC,.

The company had been fined $2,524 less than three months prior for the exact same safety violation, which resulted in a stop-work order.

5. Upper Roofing: $5,000

The roofing company based out of Langley Township was fined after WorkSafeBC inspected its worksite in Coquitlam.

Two employees, one of which was a representative of the company, were observed on a sloped roof of a two-storey house with no fall protection, exposing them to a 20-foot fall.

Inspectors found the firm had failed to ensure proper fall protection was being used, a high-risk violation; failed to ensure ladders were properly stabilized; and failed to provide proper training information, instruction, training, and supervision.

These were all repeated violations. In fact, this is the fourth fine Upper Roofing has received since 2015, now totalling over $20,000. All previous fines related to a lack of fall protection used on worksites.

6. H & B Construction: $3,869

The Richmond-based demolition firm was conducting abatement treatment on asbestos-containing materials at a pre-1990 house slated for demolition.

WorkSafeBC issued a stop-work order after inspectors observed multiple health and safety deficiencies.

These include the failure to stop asbestos dust and debris from spreading to other work areas, and ensuring all openings were adequately secured – both repeat violations.

Inspectors also found the company failed to properly ventilate its containment area, failed to wet asbestos-containing material before and during work, failed to ensure fall protection was being used, and failed to provide its workers with the proper training and supervision.

All were deemed high-risk violations.

The company was fined $2,500 in 2021 for another asbestos abatement project at a house being readied for demolition.

A stop-work order was issued, after asbestos-containing materials and drywall were left in a debris pile outside.