WorkSafe B.C. levied 20 penalties against Burnaby companies in 2011, according to its annual enforcement report.
That number jumps from 15 penalties in 2010. In 2009, there were 18 penalties levied and in 2008, only four.
The highest penalty imposed on a Burnaby company last year was $27,366.24 against Globe Foundry Ltd. for failing to comply with WorkSafe B.C. orders issued due to numerous safety violations, according to the report. The penalty was doubled as the firm had previously received a penalty for the same violations.
But that amount was much lower than the largest fine in the province - $250,000 against Peter Kiewit Infrastructure Co. after a worker in Powell River was killed by a five-foot boulder. The boulder came down a hill and hit the worker as he was hand drilling a boulder to prepare it for blasting, the report stated.
The workers were not properly instructed on clearing loose material uphill, according to the report, despite unstable material being an issue in previous risk assessments.
The penalty is currently under review.
Penalties in Burnaby in 2011 started at $1,000, which went to Sky's the Limit Roofing because the owner was not using fall protection while working on the sloped roof of a garage 13 feet above the ground. It was a repeat violation, according to the report.
Working without fall protection was the reason for 12 of the fines, with penalties ranging from $1,000 to $7,639.
The only penalty for a serious injury in the report went to the Harold David Gaucher firm, after a worker fell 10 feet from a roof, hit another roof, and fell another 20 feet onto a concrete basement floor. The firm was fined $2,500 for failing to ensure the worker used fall protection.
Most of the penalties involved repeat violations - 14 in total.
In 2011, there were 352 penalties imposed on 289 individual companies, totaling $4.88 million.
This is up from 2010, when WorkSafe B.C. imposed 256 penalties totaling $3.16 million.
Penalties in 2011 ranged from $1,000 to $250,000.
Penalties are imposed on employers if the company commits a violation that leads to injury or death of a worker, repeats an offence, fails to comply with a previous order in a timely manner, or knowingly violates one or more sections of the Workers Compensation Act.
WorkSafe B.C. could impose fines up to $565,329 as of 2009, though it can go beyond prescribed limits in extraordinary circumstances.
The size of the company, the number of people at risk, whether the company has complied in the past, who was responsible for the violation and the seriousness of the offence are taken into consideration when determining penalties.
