In keeping with the theme of yesterday’s post on the disparity of maximum OHS fines across Canada, let’s look at the highest fines imposed in one province last year. BC Fines for 2009 According to the May/June 2010 issue of WorkSafeBC’s WorkSafe magazine, WorkSafeBC imposed $4,465,313.40 in safety penalties in 2009. The magazine includes a summary of last year’s top 10 imposed penalties in terms of dollar value, detailing the employer and the nature of the violation. (Note that the size of the fines is partly based on the size of the employer’s payroll.) Here’s a look at the top 10 list: 1)         $250,000: Imposed on Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. for an incident in which a young worker was killed when he fell from a drilling rig’s monkey board shortly after the rig became engulfed in flames due to an uncontrolled gas release from the wellbore. 2)         $233,535: Imposed on Rizzani De Eccher Inc. for an incident in which a worker operating a carry-deck crane was crushed between the crane and a bridge side wall. (See #10 for the fine imposed on the prime contractor for the project.) 3)         $148,400: Imposed on Retirement Concepts Developments Ltd., as the owner/prime contractor, for failing to establish and maintain an OHS system. 4)         $105,600: Imposed on Montalco Cabinets (1991) Ltd. after one of the company’s workers suffered an amputated thumb after contacting an unguarded table saw blade. (Note: This fine was reduced to $13,900 after appeal.) 5)         $104,000: Imposed on Burnik Ventures Inc. after a worker leaned over the edge of an unguarded balcony about 12 m above grade to discard scrap drywall without wearing fall protection. 6)         $97,500: Imposed on Richmond Elevator Maintenance Ltd. after a worker performing car-top service was fatally injured when he fell between an elevator car and the elevator shaft. (Note: This fine was reduced to $75,000 following an appeal.) 7)         $97,500: Imposed on Nabors Canada ULC after a worker dismantling a drilling rig fell about 4 m onto rig matting, sustaining a serious injury. 8)         $93,700: Imposed on Intrawest ULD after two young workers were killed when their snowmobile veered off a ski run and into a gully. 9)         $86,600: Imposed on Sigurdson Bros Logging Co. Ltd. (BKR)1 for two serious injuries occurred about five weeks apart in different sawmills operated by the company. In the first incident, a worker reached through an operating transfer deck chain for a piece of waste wood. His glove got caught on the chain sprocket; his hand was drawn into the sprocket and amputated. In the second, a worker climbed onto the deck of a trimmer machine and approached an unguarded trim saw to straighten out boards being fed into the saw. As the worker tried to kick a board over the saw blade, his work boot was pulled into the trim saw and he fell onto the saw. The worker’s right leg was amputated immediately and his left leg later had to be amputated. 10)       $81,800: Imposed on SNC-Lavalin Constructors (Pacific) Inc. as the prime contractor after a worker operating a carry-deck crane was fatally crushed between the crane and a bridge side wall. (See #2 for the fine imposed on worker’s employer.) Some Observations Most of the fines imposed in BC last year related to incidents caused by inadequate training or supervision on the job, which is reflected in the top 10 list. For example, lack of supervision was cited in the incident for which the #2 and #10 fines were imposed. And as to #8 on the list, the employer had a comprehensive snowmobile training program, but the operator of the snowmobile in the incident didn’t go through that program. Of the 211 penalized incidents last year, 16 of them involved a fatality. You might assume that the top 10 list would involve 10 of those 16 fatal incidents, but it doesn’t. In fact, in the incidents involved in #3 and #5 on the list, no one was even hurt. Lesson: The fact that a worker died doesn’t necessarily mean that a high fine will be imposed. Conversely, don’t breathe a sigh of relief if workers’ escape injury and death in an incident because your company could still be severely penalized. Repeat violations were also a factor in the top 10 list. For example, the companies at the #4 and #5 spots had been penalized for the same types of violations before these fines were imposed. In addition, we often hear that young workers are most at risk in the workplace. And in two of the incidents on the list, young workers were killed.