July 23, 2008

BRADLEY FEHR

Crane operators in B.C. will still need to be provincially certified, despite some delays in the implementation of the program.

WorkSafeBC blames Canada Line crane death on lack of operator training

BRADLEY FEHR

editor

Scathing reports into the death of a 22-year-old crane operator blame a lack of training, among other factors, for contributing to the young man’s death, but recommend a fine rather than criminal charges.

“The operator was not sufficiently trained or experienced in crane operations to be placed in an operator’s position on this bridge,” the WorkSafeBC inspection report states.

Andrew Slobodian, an ironworker, was killed when the small carry-deck crane he was operating tipped over and killed him while he was working on the Canada Line bridge over the Fraser River earlier this year.

Last week, WorkSafeBC released an inspection report into the matter, which found several safety practices lacking at the time of the tragedy.

It followed that up by releasing an investigative report that analyzed and expanded upon the findings of the first report.

The reports state that both Slobodian and his supervisor were inadequately trained for the job.

Both men received between 20 and 90 minutes of training on how to use the machinery, which wasn’t enough.

It adds that the work that Slobodian was doing was beyond his skill level and that supervision was lacking. Rizzani De Eccher, which is also known as RSL Joint Venture, was his employer and SNC-Lavalin Constructors (Pacific) Inc. is the main contractor on the project.

The report found that the official cause of the incident was that Slobodian tried to lift too much weight for the configuration of the boom and outriggers of the Shuttlelift crane, which resulted in it tipping over.

The load weights of the materials he was lifting were not known, which directly contributed to the incident.

However, the reports also list several other factors that they believe contributed to the worker’s death.

The inspection report found that several safety measures were missing from inside the crane.

It was not marked or otherwise equipped with any system to inform the operator of the current radius of the boom and that the radius would have to be measured manually.

The rated capacity of that particular crane is affected by boom extension.

Also, there were no load/range charts within the crane cab.

The report also found several other factors contributed to the incident.

“The employer failed to ensure that effective regular inspections were conducted, which resulted in unsafe working habits and procedures with the crane,” the inspection report states.

The report found that even with the frequency of hoisting line replacements, there were no qualified inspections of the crane’s operations.

It also concluded that the employer failed to ensure that the carry-deck crane was operated in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions, safe work practices and occupational health and safety regulations.

Fraser Cocks, executive director of the B.C. Association for Crane Safety, one of the two organizations currently working together to implement a province-side crane operator’s certification, said that it is always tragic when these sorts of events occur.

“It reinforces why we are here,” he added. “People need to understand what the equipment can do and is supposed to do.”

Cocks said he is less concerned about the amount of training that the worker and supervisor received and more concerned about the competencies achieved.

“It sounds like there were some things lacking,” he said

His association is working towards province-wide certification and he hopes to have the program up and running by September.

The WorkSafeBC report is now in the hands of investigators, who will determine the next course of action, which could include fines of up to $519,000 for a first offence.

WorkSafeBC fines are calculated using a number of factors, including the size and payroll of the company.

Criminal charges have been recommended on past files, but that isn’t the case this time.

Roberta Ellis, VP policy investigations and review with WorkSafeBC, said that the investigator in this particular case decided that criminal charges aren’t warranted.

“In this file, the investigator has determined that an administrative penalty is appropriate,” she said.

A report including the recommended penalties should be made available over the next couple of weeks.

Wayne Peppard, executive director with the B.C. Yukon Building Construction Trades Council, originally called for criminal charges in the matter, but after reading the report he said he is hoping for clarification on several points before speaking further on the matter.

However, he didn’t soften his stance on holding companies responsible.

“Where there is negligence, there should be the possibility of criminal charges,” he said.

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