Just as scaffolding and fall protection violations topped OSHA’s recently announced list of most frequently cited violations for 2010, the reality of workplace height hazards hit home in Toronto, Canada.
Toronto police have arrested three men in connection with the tragic Christmas Eve deaths of three construction workers. On that day, construction workers were undergoing repair and restoration work on a swing stage at the 13th floor of a residential building in the city. The platform broke in two and four of the men plummeted to their deaths while another suffered life-threatening injuries.
Last week, in a historic move, three officials with the construction firm responsible (as well as the firm itself) were charged for criminal negligence causing bodily harm and death by Toronto police.
"They should never have fallen," a Toronto police superintendent told CBC news. "There (are) obviously very strict guidelines, rules and Ministry of Labour protocol that needed to be followed, but weren't followed."
While the benefits of a streamlined safety management program are often tied to the cost- and risk-aversion factors associated from fines resulting from safety violations, this case brings a new twist into the equation – for businesses in Ontario, at least, where this is the first-ever case where company officials face possible life prison terms as the result of criminal charges flowing from a safety-related tragedy.
The need for a fulsome safety strategy and a secure safety program that ensures nothing slips through the cracks should be even more evident to – above and beyond safety personnel – the individuals who own and run companies where substantial safety concerns are a part of day-to-day business.
