Date of incident: September 2020
Notice of incident number: 2020188270014
Employers: Construction company; real estate development company

Incident summary
At a condominium construction site, a crew was installing vapour barrier on the exterior of a seven‑storey building. One of the workers was attempting to climb from a fourth‑floor balcony onto a mast‑climbing work platform that was approximately 1.2 m (4 ft.) above the balcony when he slipped and fell approximately 14.9 m (49 ft.) to the ground below. The worker sustained fatal injuries.

Investigation conclusions

Cause

• Worker attempted to access elevated platform without fall protection system. The worker fell approximately 14.9 m (49 ft.) when he attempted to climb from the unguarded balcony onto the platform. The worker was wearing a fall protection harness and a retractable lanyard but was not attached to an anchor point. A lifeline with rope grab was not available inside the building or outside on the balcony for the worker to tie off to as part of an appropriate fall protection system.

Contributing factors

• Inadequate access to platform. The platform was elevated approximately 1.2 m (4 ft.) from the unguarded balcony and positioned approximately 0.1 to 0.3 m (10 to 12 in.) from the outer wall of the building. This opening exacerbated the fall hazard created by the unguarded balcony and the lack of a lifeline when the worker attempted to climb onto the platform.
• Inadequate supervision. The worker’s employer (the construction company) did not provide adequate supervision on this worksite. The firm failed to ensure that the site‑specific fall protection plan was properly implemented and that a lifeline was available inside or outside the building near the balcony for the worker to tie off to.
• Inadequate worksite inspections. Worksite inspections by the prime contractor for the site (the real estate development company) were ineffective in identifying or correcting fall hazards related to accessing and exiting the platform. The inspections did not identify a lack of guardrails and lifelines around the balcony as a hazard for workers entering or exiting the platform.
• Inadequate oversight of work activities. The prime contractor was responsible for doing everything that was reasonably practicable to maintain a system or process that ensured hazards were properly identified, risks were assessed, and effective control measures were implemented. The prime contractor failed to ensure that unsafe working conditions, such as the unguarded balcony and the lack of lifelines on the fourth floor, were corrected prior to work proceeding.

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