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WorkSafeBC has issued more than $1.2 million in fines to Ontario-based construction giant EllisDon Corp. for three separate crane-related safety violations, including a fatal one at Vancouver’s Oakridge Mall development in 2024.
Prime contractor EllisDon was fined almost $515,000 for the February 2024 incident that killed Yuridia Flores, a mother of two from Mexico
Concrete formwork provider Newway Concrete Forming was also fined almost $113,000 in the case, according to a WorkSafeBC bulletin issued Friday.
B.C.’s workplace regulator said Newway was using a tower crane to lift a flytable (a pre-assembled structure or mould used to form concrete, often flooring) from one floor to another.
But when the rigged flytable was being pushed, the regulator says “it accelerated out of the side of the building and fell to the ground, striking and fatally injuring a worker.”
WorkSafeBC released a new report into a fatality at Vancouver’s massive Oakridge Park redevelopment site. Last year, a worker was killed on the job after a tower crane dropped its load. Janella Hamilton has more on the report’s findings.
The flytable fell 26 storeys, according to a previous WorkSafeBC report.
In its information bulletin, WorkSafeBC described a series of failures and “high-risk violations” by both companies to ensure proper procedures were in place.
EllisDon was found to have failed to ensure regular inspections took place, failed to make sure its workplace was maintained to protect workers from danger and failed to ensure lift plans were prepared.
EllisDon had not conducted regular reviews of subcontractors’ safe work procedures, and did not confirm a risk assessment had been conducted, according to WorkSafeBC’s investigation.
“In addition, the exclusion zone on the ground was inadequate and had not been controlled, and procedures and communication for spotters on the ground were inconsistent,” the regulator found.
EllisDon said it is reviewing the regulator’s decision in a statement.
“We continue to be diligent and are always exploring new and innovative ways to strengthen and enhance our safety program, ensuring that safety remains at the core of everything we do,” said spokesperson Dustin Luchka in the emailed statement.
WorkSafeBC said Newway Concrete Forming’s work procedures included multiple safety deficiencies.
Those included a lack of training and communication for ground control workers, inadequate procedures for flying corner tables, a lack of risk assessments and a lack of adherence to critical lift requirements.
It failed to ensure a written lift plan was prepared for every critical lift, and failed to ensure certain drawings showed step-by-step procedures, according to WorkSafeBC’s bulletin.
WorkSafeBC is accusing the prime contractor of a “systemic failure” to manage safety at the Oakridge construction site. The regulator recently executed a search warrant as it investigates multiple incidents, including a crane dropping its load and scaffolding coming loose. As Jon Hernandez reports, the warrant alleges dozens of safety violations, including one that led to a death earlier this year.
The Oakridge project in South Vancouver is a $6.5-billion redevelopment by Westbank and Quadreal of the 11-hectare Oakridge mall.
It spans about eight city blocks. The plans include building 14 towers with 3,000 homes, as well as a giant park and hundreds of retail stores.
Workers on the Oakridge site reported multiple near-misses involving cranes before the fatality in February 2024.
EllisDon fined for two more incidents
WorkSafe also announced it is issuing more than $688,000 to EllisDon for two other tower crane safety violations this year, one in Vancouver in April and the other in Victoria in June.
Both involved a “loss of load” with no serious injuries reported.
In one case, the load of steel canopy components fell because a sharp edge of a canopy cut the rigging sling.
WorkSafeBC said the firm did not review lift plans in either incident.
Administrative penalties are fines imposed on employers for health and safety violations of the Workers Compensation Act and the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation, according to WorkSafe.
