Skip to content

West Shore firms fined for safety infractions

Two West Shore companies were fined by WorkSafeBC in 2010, according to its annual enforcement report released Wednesday.

In May, Proline Roofing in View Royal was fined nearly $29,000 after four people working for the firm, including the supervisor, worked on roofs without the required safety equipment for protect them in the case of a fall.

"This was a repeated high-risk violation of the fall protection requirements," the report states, adding that the company also failed to "provide workers with the information, instruction, training and supervision necessary to ensure their safety."

Meanwhile, Island View Construction Ltd. in Colwood was fined nearly $4,000 for a similar violation in April.

There a worker failed to use fall protection while standing on an unguarded work platform to install siding. The worker was "about 6 m (20 ft.) above uneven, rocky ground," according to the report, which noted the necessary safety equipment was available on the worksite, but the worker was not required to wear it.

Elsewhere in the Capital Region, Dunsmuir Apartments of Esquimalt was fined $4,500 for disturbing asbestos in a water-damaged apartment building without proper preparation, and for failing to adequately protect workers from potential exposure to asbestos fibers.

Gold Seal Ventures of Victoria was fined $2,500 for failing to use a fall protection system for work higher than 10 feet above the ground, and for not providing workers proper training and supervision for fall protection.

About 65 per cent of WorkSafeBC infractions involve roofing and construction contracting.

Overall in 2010, WorkSafeBC issued 256 penalties against 232 employers, with penalties ranging from $1,000 to $145,000. Twelve of the incidents involved a workplace fatality.