Visit O H & S at Journal of Commerce

Occupational Health and Safety

August 29, 2008

Guelph, Ontario firm fined $200,000 in worker's death

Cox Construction Ltd. of Guelph, Ontario was fined $200,000 on Aug. 20, 2008 in connection with the death of a worker at a road construction project in Cambridge.

August 29, 2008

Aecon wins $31.5 million Smiths Falls, Ontario hospital contract

Aecon Group Inc. has been awarded a contract worth about $31.5 million for the re-development of the Perth and Smiths Falls District Hospital in Smiths Falls, Ont.

August 28, 2008

Integrated Team Solutions is the preferred proponent for Woodstock, Ontario hospital

Woodstock General Hospital will be a new 178 bed facility, providing patients and staff with a high quality healing environment and the latest technology in bedside services and communications.

August 27, 2008

Oilsands equipment for Northern Alberta will move via Thunder Bay, Ontario

A new Canadian shipping route will allow cargo to flow to oilsands construction sites in Northern Alberta from Thunder Bay, Ontario.

August 25, 2008

Deaths of SNC-Lavalin workers in Algeria highlight risks of overseas operations

The deaths of a dozen SNC-Lavalin Algerian employees in a North African bus bombing point to the increasing risk that Canadian companies face as they expand their international operations in war-torn or politically troubled regions.

August 25, 2008

Construction industry benefits from drop in WorkSafeBC’s base assessment rates

For the third year in a row, most WorkSafeBC base assessment rates will drop for employers in B.C.’s construction industry.

August 25, 2008

Professional Engineers Ontario unveils new performance standards for demolition

As a response to the 2003 Uptown Theatre collapse in Toronto, Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) has unveiled new performance standards governing preparation of a demolition plan and general review of demolition.

August 22, 2008

Four Sault-area mechanical contracting firms get approval to hire foreign workers

Four local companies — Venshore Mechanical, McLeod Bros. Mechanical, R.F. Contracting and Superior Industrial Services — have been granted approval by Human Resources and Social Development Canada to bring in foreign plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters.

August 21, 2008

Twelve Algerian employees of SNC-Lavalin die in bus bombing

Twelve Algerian employees of SNC-Lavalin were killed in a terrorist attack on August 20, 2008, while riding on a bus to work on the Koudiat Acerdoune water treatment plant and distribution project in Algeria. Another 15 employees were wounded in the bombing.

August 21, 2008

Vanbots makes smooth progress on Southlake Regional Cancer Centre project

General contractor Vanbots Construction Corp. began the Southlake Regional Cancer Centre project in June 2007. Completion has been scheduled for fall 2009.

August 21, 2008

Construction worker injured in Lindsay warehouse collapse

A 24-year-old worker was in serious condition in hospital after part of a warehouse building under construction in Lindsay collapsed Monday.

August 20, 2008

Construction worker escapes serious injury in Toronto crane accident

Police say a construction worker is lucky to be alive, after a recent accident on a downtown Toronto work site.

August 19, 2008

Committee begins draft of Canadian building-commissioning standard

A committee that includes representation from Canadian building owners, government agencies and the design and contracting communities is gearing up to draft a long-awaited national standard on building commissioning.

August 19, 2008

Iowa worker dies after being struck by crane’s counter-weight

Authorities say a construction worker has died after he was struck by a crane near a bridge project along Interstate 80 in western Iowa.

August 19, 2008

Date set for inquest into death of Rodney Bedell

An inquest into the death of roofer Rodney Bedell will be held November 12, 2008 at the Best Western Inn in Milton. About 10 witnesses are expected to appear over three days.quest will be held into the death of Rodney Bedell.

August 19, 2008

Canadian and Saskatchewan governments team up to improve Temporary Foreign Worker program

The federal government and province of Saskatchewan are teaming up on several fronts to improve the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.

August 19, 2008

Bulgarian construction safety blitz uncovers numerous violations

After inspecting 14 construction sites in Bansko, Bulgaria’s Labour and Social Policy Ministry suspended work on four sites and ordered various building equipment to cease operating because of safety concerns, Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) reported.

August 13, 2008

Relic of Niagara River rescue remains

On August 6, 1918, a fully loaded scow was being pulled upstream by the tugboat Hassayampa when the tug hit another sand bar. The scow breasted the waves and snapped the cable connecting it to the tug.

August 13, 2008

Number of temporary foreign workers in Alberta, B.C. rises dramatically

Alberta and B.C. are experiencing the most rapid increases in the number of temporary foreign workers (TFWs) of any province in Canada, according to federal government statistics.

August 13, 2008

Canadian Demolition Safety Manual ready for distribution

The Canadian demolition industry’s first-ever safety manual has been published and industry representatives continue to make further inroads with the National Demolition Association (NDA) in the United States.

August 13, 2008

Interpretations of WorkSafeBC’s 2007 injury-claims statistics vary

WorkSafeBC 2007 statistics indicate there were fewer claims for injury accidents and survival benefits per 1,000 employees than ever recorded in the history of the construction industry. But is that because job sites are safer, or because more accidents are going unreported?

August 13, 2008

Lutherwood project helps Waterloo youth gain skills needed for construction jobs

Young people from the Waterloo area struggling with barriers to employment will receive assistance to develop skills needed to find quality jobs in the construction trades.

August 12, 2008

Road builders train Korean workers to operate heavy equipment in Canada

Hunt International, a recruitment and human resources firm, is providing workers in Korea with training in heavy equipment operation, so they can obtain employment in B.C. and Alberta.

August 12, 2008

Gallagher returns for fourth term as Local 793 business manager

Mike Gallagher of Oakville has been re-elected to a fourth term as business manager of Local 793 of the International Union of Operating Engineers.

August 11, 2008

Girls GETT hands-on experience at trades workshop

Thirteen-year-olds Lauren Tonello (left) and Mikayla Wong worked together recently to build a go-kart at BCIT’s Girls Exploring Trades and Technology (GETT) program.

August 11, 2008

U.S. bridge report offers warnings that Ontario should heed, association says

The province of Ontario should look at the findings of a recent study on the challenges facing American bridges, says Andy Manahan, executive director of the Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario.

August 8, 2008

Roadside worker dies at Mississauga job site

A Brampton man working with a road resurfacing crew on Dixie Road suffered fatal injuries at a Mississauga project site, Peel police report.

August 8, 2008

Work moves along quickly at Vanbots’ Sunnybook Hospital project

Construction is moving along on the M-Wing Shell/P&G Fit-Up at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto.

August 7, 2008

VIA plans to invest $25 million to modernize Ottawa-Montreal railway infrastructure

VIA Rail Canada has announced it plans to invest more than $25 million on a multi-phase, multi-year program to modernize key parts of its rail infrastructure between Ottawa and Montréal.

August 7, 2008

Bilfinger Berger Canada sues Metro Vancouver over Capilano-Seymour tunnel project

The German company hired to construct twin tunnels for a water filtration project in North Vancouver is launching a lawsuit against Metro Vancouver and placing a lien against the project.

August 6, 2008

Ontario labour ministry inspectors conduct health and safety blitz at work sites

Ontario inspectors are now blitzing work sites and locations across the province in order to make an immediate impact on improving health and safety, says Ontario’s labour minister.

August 6, 2008

Accidents prompt meeting of British Columbia’s construction-crane industry

Representatives of British Columbia’s construction-crane industry will be meeting with WorksafeBC in September to discuss safety procedures.

August 5, 2008

McMaster study looks at link between diesel fumes and diabetes

International Union of Operating Engineers Local 793 supports a McMaster University study looking at possible connections between diesel fume exposure and diabetes among its members.

August 1, 2008

TransAlta plans new dyke wall for lagoon at Keephills power plant

A dyke wall holding back a pond full of ash slurry from TransAlta Corp.’s coal-fired Keephills power plant is in danger of breaching, so tompany will build a second dyke wall to redirect slurry into another lagoon on site.

August 1, 2008

Monte Creek-to-Pritchard section of TransCanada highway earns an upgrade

The governments of Canada and British Columbia have announced $42.8 million in funding for a highway project near Kamloops under the Building Canada infrastructure plan.

July 31, 2008

200-ton tunnel boring machine completes Manhattan rail tubes

A huge, granite-eating machine that spent the past eight months chewing a mile (1.6 kilometre)-long tunnel beneath a busy Manhattan office district is getting a rest, of sorts, after completing its journey to the city’s Grand Central Terminal train station.

July 30, 2008

Manitoba boy, 15, dies after being buried under hot asphalt

A 15-year-old working on a construction site just north of Winnipeg has died after being buried in hot asphalt.

July 30, 2008

Alberta beefs up support for temporary foreign workers

The government of Alberta has quietly launched a new initiative to provide immigration support services to temporary foreign workers (TFWs) in the province.