Prince George lumber manufacturer Brink Forest Products Ltd. was fined $13,084 last year for allegedly violating workplace safety standards, according to an annual report of penalties imposed by WorkSafe B.C.
The fine was levied for failing to ensure the firm's joint health and safety committee met regularly and failing to ensure that machinery and equipment had adequate safeguards to protect workers, WorkSafe said in the report.
WorkSafe regional manager Bruce Clarke said a series of inspections dating back to 2006 uncovered such problems as an ability to remove the hood on the chipper before the rotor has stopped, lack of a safety belt and lanyard for the worker who cleared the chipper, failing to use seatbelts on the forklifts, lack of respiratory protection, unguarded idler rollers and inadequately guarded chop saws.
Steps were usually taken to fix problems when WorkSafe issued orders or warnings only to have them crop up elsewhere, said Clarke.
"They're just not being duly diligent," Clarke said.
After an appeal by Brink to WorkSafe's review division was turned down, the firm is now appealing to the Workers' Compensation Appeal Tribunal (WCAT).
Brink president John Brink declined to comment on the nature of the appeal.
"It's before the appeal board so I don't want to say too much about it but we obviously believe it [the fine] was not warranted," Brink said. "We've been in business 36 years and we're extremely proud of our record."
Brink has not lost a day to injury in the past year, he noted, "and we've got 180 employees."
Fines were levied against six other Prince George businesses or individuals last year, most of them in the construction sector:
- David Moorman was fined $5,000 after he was allegedly found working without any form of fall protection at a height of about four metres (14 feet) while installing trusses. "This was a repeated violation of the fall protection," WorkSafe noted in the report. The fine has been appealed to WCAT.
- Roofing With Wits was fined $3,431 after the firm's owner, a supervisor, and another worker were found working on the sloped roof of a new residential building about 5.5 metres (18 feet) above grade without a fall protection system in place. It was a repeated violation and not appealed.
- A numbered company whose president is Mike Nahal was fined $2,500 after failing, within a reasonable time, to submit a notice of project for its construction site and failed to provide adequate first aid equipment, supplies, and attendants for the site. The fine was not appealed.
- Employer Jason David Collett was fined $2,500 after this firm allegedly allowed its workers to use unsafe methods for cutting down trees.
"For example, it allowed the use of sloping cuts, contrary to safe falling procedures. One of its workers was at risk of being struck by a tree when the area around the tree wasn't cleared as required," WorkSafe said. "The firm also failed to provide a safe escape route by brushing out the areas around trees that were being felled."
The fine is under review.
- Uppal Plastering and Stucco Ltd. was fined $2,500 after a worker was allegedly found standing about 6.5 metres (21 feet) above grade on a wood frame scaffold at a house under construction. "He was not using any form of fall protection," WorkSafe said. "In addition, the wood frame scaffolding on site had multiple deficiencies, posing a high risk of injury to workers."
The fine was within the 90-day time period for an appeal to the review division as of March 3.
- Harman Painting Co. Ltd. was fined $2,500 after workers were found to be risking falls of up to about six metres (19 feet) while working on wood frame scaffolding without using any form of fall protection. And the wood frame scaffolding was deficient.
The fine was within the 90-day time period for an appeal to the review division as of March 3.
