Date of incident: July 2021
Notice of incident number: 2021158750004
Employer: Window-cleaning company

Incident summary

A crew of ground workers was cleaning exterior windows on a four-storey residential condominium complex. A worker was using an extended water-fed washing pole when the pole inadvertently made contact with an overhead 25 kV power line. The worker received an electric shock and sustained serious injuries.

Investigation conclusions

Cause

• Worker breached limits of approach and pole contacted power line. The worker breached the limits of approach to a high-voltage power line, and the extended water-fed washing pole he was using made contact with the power line.

Contributing factors

• Failure to identify and communicate hazards. Before the day of the incident, the employer provided a quote to the client, and the employer’s own workers, that was supposed to note the hazards at the site, such as electrical hazards, but it did not. When the ground crew workers arrived at the condominium complex, they should have been made aware that the overhead power lines were hazardous for workers using an extended water-fed washing pole. Failing to identify and communicate the electrical hazard when the quote was created and when the workers were on site contributed to the incident.
• Lack of health and safety program. The employer did not have an occupational health and safety program as required. If it had had such a program, it would likely also have had a system for conducting worksite inspections, identifying hazards, and implementing control measures, all of which would have helped ensure the safety of its workers at the incident worksite.
• Inadequate work methods and procedures. To wash the windows and balcony glass panels on the condominium, the ground crew members were only equipped with the extended water-fed poles. Using this type of pole in the front of the condominium while it was extended to reach the windows and glass panels breached the limits of approach to the power lines. The employer’s work methods and procedures using the extended water-fed poles created a risk of electric shock.
• Inadequate training and instruction. The employer delivered and documented young and new worker orientation and training given to the ground crew. The employer stated that the workers were informed of potential electrical hazards and were told that they were not to approach within 3 m (10 ft.) of power lines with any part of their body or their equipment. However, the employer did not provide any documentation showing exactly what the workers were trained and instructed to do, specifically in relation to the limits of approach. It did not provide any evidence to indicate that it delivered any training or instruction that considered the inadvertent movement of an extended water-fed pole breaching the 3 m (10 ft.) radius around power lines that were not connected to the structure. As such, the employer equipped and directed the ground crew to conduct work that breached the limits of approach in front of the condominium.
• Inadequate supervision . The employer failed to ensure the health and safety of its ground crew workers by delegating supervisory responsibilities to workers without providing them with adequate training. The employer failed to provide adequate training on supervision and the limits of approach to workers tasked with directing the work activities of ground crews and identifying hazards at the work sites.