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Metro Vancouver has been fined about $170,000 after a worker was seriously injured during “high-risk violations” while working on a water main in New Westminster two years ago.
WorkSafeBCÂ says in a news release that it issued the penalty to the regional district on March 12 after one of two workers helping lift gearboxes off a water main valve was injured when one gearbox “released and lifted forcefully upward.”
It says the gearboxes were being lifted out of a confined space using a crane, and the workers were inside the space using pry bars, on March 15, 2024.
WorkSafeBCÂ says it identified several high-risk violations, including a failure to plan and identify hazards before conducting the operation.
The board says Metro Vancouver did not make sure health and safety activities were coordinated and also failed to develop written procedures to reduce the risks working in confined spaces.
The violations also included the lack of an adequately trained supervisor on-site, and the workers’ lack of adequate training in such situations.