December 30, 2009

VINCE VERSACE

The swing stage that came apart at an apartment building on Kipling Avenue has been removed by the provincial labour ministry.

Cause not yet determined in Christmas Eve construction worker tragedy

Metron Construction Corp. identified as general contractor at project site

VINCE VERSACE

staff writer

Work has not resumed on the site where a swing stage came apart the afternoon of Christmas Eve in Toronto, claiming the lives of four construction workers and leaving another in intensive care.

Ontario’s labour ministry reports that the suspended equipment involved in the incident at the Kipling Avenue apartment building, south of Steeles Avenue, has been seized, removed and transported to a secure location.

The ministry is still investigating the incident and no cause has yet been determined.

Metron Construction Corp is the general contractor at the project site.

The five workers were performing balcony repairs at the time of the incident.

The hospitalized worker, Dilshod Mamurov, is still in hospital, reportedly with shattered legs and a spinal injuries after surviving the 13-storey drop.

He is in intensive care at Sunnybrook Hospital.

It is believed that none of the workers were wearing their safety harnesses at the time of the incident.

The ministry issued two orders to Cogir Property Management to secure the scene and to provide the ministry with a detailed work plan, prepared by an engineer, describing how the equipment involved in the incident would be removed in a safe and appropriate manner, said William Lin, media relations, Ontario Ministry of Labour.

Scaffold and fall protection safety were a major focus in safety and enforcement blitzes conducted by Ontario’s labour ministry last year across the province.

An August 2008 inspection blitz looking into unsafe work practices in the renovation and demolition sector found that a lack of fall protection accounted for 68 of the 809 orders issued to correct infractions and deficiencies.

The blitz consisted of 82 ministry construction-sector inspectors conducting 333 inspection visits to 288 project sites.

The 68 orders covered infractions concerning the use of personal fall protection equipment, guardrails and coverings for opening in work surfaces.

"The high number of orders related to fall protection suggests that the construction industry may require more oversight by the ministry in this regard," stated a March 2009 labour ministry report on the blitz results.

Occupational Health and Safety Act infractions concerning safe use of scaffolding during that same blitz resulted in 32 orders issues for failure to comply with the act. Also, 74 orders for the lack of personal protective equipment being worn were issued.

"The numbers of orders issued for personal protective equipment and the fall-protection requirements shows that there remains room improvement in the industry," concludes the labour ministry report.

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