Construction company hit with $29k fine

Amacon Construction was cited for several infractions this spring over conditions at a construction site at 500 Foster Ave. and 638 Whiting Way.

When inspectors arrived on May 27 several sub-contractors were working on the electrical, plumbing, and concrete forming for Amacon’s 44-storey highrise and seven-storey wood frame building.

Inspectors issued one subcontractor a stop-work order shortly after spotting a worker in an elevated basket doing siding work near a high-voltage overhead power line.

“The workers were not aware of the voltage associated with the lines,” according to a WorkSafeBC report.

Inside the building, workers were spray-applying polyurethane foam insulation with no apparent exposure control plan or proper respiratory protection, according to the report.

While a ventilation plan was provided, the inspector found the plan substandard.

“I determined that the sub-contractor had not implemented the ventilation plan which was found to be deficient anyways.”

Inspectors issued a stop-work order to the sub-contractor responsible.

Inspectors also spotted stairways without handrails, mezzanines 12 feet above grade with no guardrails, and two 12-foot deep sumps without warning signs or barricades.

The report also listed stacks of drywall boards in hallways, propane cylinders, and vertically-stored doors – none of which were secured.

The inspector reported seeing a forklift moving bags of concrete dust out of the parkade. Workers were in the process of removing bags of silica dust from around the entrance ramp of the highrise parkade, the report stated.

There was an accumulation of concrete dust and sand in the parkade and other areas of the building, according to the inspector’s report.

Given the risk of crystalline silica particles settling deep into the lungs of exposed workers, the inspector noted the employer’s responsibility to ensure the dust was cleaned promptly.

While there were several chemical toilets on site, there were three flush toilets for 165 workers – fewer than half the recommended amount.

Amacon was fined a total of $29,809.

2023 shoring wall incident

There have been previous problems on the site, including a dramatic shoring wall collapse in November 2023.

In a video posted to social media, a horizontal fracture spreads across the wall as soil pours through until the wall bursts amid an avalanche of construction fill.

More than a year before the collapse, Amacon found efforts to remove water from the site weren’t effective. Amacon tried other dewatering methods but found soil came loose, leading to “punched anchors and formation of voids behind the shoring walls” in April 2023.

No one was injured in the collapse.