B.C. construction safety in focus after another crane incident at Vancouver site

The conversation surrounding construction site safety — and the sufficiency of new regulations — has been renewed following yet another crane incident at the same Oakridge project where a worker was tragically killed earlier this year.

WorkSafeBC reports no injuries after the crane lost its load around 2:00 p.m. Wednesday. The materials crashed down near the intersection of 41st Avenue and Ash Street in the Vancouver neighborhood.

“WorkSafeBC has launched an investigation to identify the causes, as well as any contributing factors,” WorkSafeBC said in a statement.

EllisDon, the company overseeing the Oakridge Park Project, says it’s “cooperating fully” with the investigation.

Wednesday’s incident came one day after new B.C. crane safety regulations came into effect.

The union representing workers at the Oakridge site says the “alarming rate” of crane incidents has started to give B.C. a troubled reputation.

“We’re becoming a bit notorious in the crane and rigging world,” IUOE Local 115 president Bryan Railton told Citynews. “[Wednesday] is another example of why.”

The Lower Mainland is considered to be one of the busiest regions in Canada for crane activity.

As part of B.C.’s updated safety regulations, companies are now mandated to notify WorkSafeBC in writing a minimum of two weeks before they begin operating crane towers.

But Railton is raising concerns about the scope of the new regulations.

“There’s a drastic need for more training and certification, not just for the operators, but also for the riggers, and for the industry to participate in that,” he said.

“We need to be looking at this industry and the issues we’re dealing with in a more holistic [way].”

WorkSafeBC numbers shows there were 153 deaths related to construction site work in the province between 2020 and 2023. However, this data does not distinguish between fatalities occurring on-site and those resulting from occupational diseases.

Figures for 2024 were unavailable at the time of the request.

The workers’ compensation board is currently investigating two separate construction site fatalities that occurred just hours apart on Vancouver Island last week.