Manufacturing injury at plywood company prompts $547,000 fine

RICHMOND, B.C. — Two recent unrelated incidents in B.C. have prompted high fines from WorkSafeBC.

Press injury

Richmond Plywood Corporation Limited (Richply) was slapped with a $547,000 fine after a worker was seriously injured by machinery.

According to WorkSafeBC fine documents, the worker was injured while positioning paper on panels and loading them onto a press. The worker climbed a ladder to realign one of the sheets when the press was activated. The worker was caught in the press, sustaining serious injuries.

WorkSafeBC investigators concluded the worker could not be seen by the press operator when the press was activated, which is a serious risk that the firm’s work practices for the task did not adequately address. Investigators also found no safeguard was in place to prevent workers from coming into contact with the press’s point of operation.

“The firm failed to ensure machinery was fitted with adequate safeguards, a repeated violation, and failed to establish an effective means of communication and safe work procedures when two or more workers were required to work as a team,” read the regulator’s report.

The company’s website states it produces one of the largest selections of plywood in Canada.

Power line fire

Suncoast Logging was hit with a $34,000 fine after log loader snapped a power line.

WorkSafeBC inspectors were called to the firm’s logging operations after a line log loader (super snorkel) was travelling on a resource road when the loader’s boom made contact with and snapped a power line.

According to WorkSafeBC reports, the snorkel was significantly damaged and the snapped power line sparked a fire on the ground.

“The firm failed to ensure that workers were informed of the location of high-voltage electrical equipment before starting work and failed to ensure that workers maintained the minimal clearance distance from exposed electrical equipment,” reads the regulator’s incident report. “These were both high-risk violations.”

WorkSafeBC added the firm also failed to provide its workers with the information, instruction, training and supervision necessary to ensure their health and safety.