Skip to content

No evidence of safety non-compliance in White Rock construction incident

Employer urged to review procedures after worker struck by falling rebar
15419944_web1_190118-PAN-M-workplace-injury-Carol-Berry
Emergency crews were on George Street in White Rock the morning of Jan. 18, following a report of a worker injured at a construction site. (Carol Berry photo)

Lack of compliance with safe work standards was not a factor in the injury last month of a worker on a White Rock construction site.

According to an inspection report shared this week, a WorkSafeBC occupational safety officer “encouraged (two firms connected to the project) to review their risk assessment, inspection, and safe work procedures to ensure that adequate and thorough processes are being identified moving forward.”

The inspection was triggered by a Jan. 18 incident at the site, located at 15241 Thrift Ave.

READ MORE: Worker injured in White Rock: WorkSafeBC

Emergency crews were called to the site just before 8:30 a.m. that day, for what WorkSafeBC officials initially described as an injury that appeared to fall into the “struck-by” category.

The inspection report, shared with Peace Arch News on request, states the worker “was assisting the installation of a zone at one of the corners of the elevator core when a ‘hairpin’ weighing approximately 2.5 pounds with a length that measured 13 inches fell from an unknown elevation above.”

The report doesn’t say where the worker was struck, but notes the individual was wearing safety headgear. A 14-storey concrete residential tower is underway at the site. Work at the time was on construction of four levels of below-ground parkade, and the worker was transported from the lower parkade level following the injury, the report states.

The safety officer encouraged the firms to review procedures “as there has been no determination as to the exact/correct place from where this piece of reinforcing came from, and the lack of evidence to prove otherwise.”

Both the employer (Marcon Construction Ltd.) and Lower Mainland Steel are investigating independently, the report notes.

The employer (Marcon Construction Ltd.) and Lower Mainland Steel are investigating independently, the report notes.



Tracy Holmes

About the Author: Tracy Holmes

Tracy Holmes has been a reporter with Peace Arch News since 1997.
Read more