A fatal fall at a Hamilton construction site will cost a contractor $150,000.

The incident occurred at a 13-storey residential construction project on Forest Avenue in Hamilton. The work involved the restoration of balconies on the building. Crews were performing work from a suspended swing stage.

Work on two wings had already been completed. The incident occurred during the set up for work to be performed on the third of four wings.

Two workers were on the roof of the building at the time of the incident. They were not wearing any fall protection equipment and were not otherwise protected from the hazard of falling off the edge of the building.

They were marking measurements to indicate the new location for a beam to support the suspended swing stage. One worker was on hands and knees and held and watched the live end of the measuring tape. The other worker took the zero end of the measuring tape and walked away towards the end of the wing to mark the location of the beam.

The worker on hands and knees saw the measuring device continue beyond the expected distance and yelled for the co-worker to stop. At that point, the co-worker screamed while falling off the edge of the building. The co-worker was pronounced dead at the project by a regional coroner.

Employers must follow the Occupational Health and Safety Act and Regulation 213/91, which applies to construction projects, to protect workers on a project. One such requirement is section 26.1(2) which states a worker must be protected from falling when working at a height of more than three metres. Various fall protection methods can be used to protect a worker including, for example, a guardrail or a travel restraint system that prevents a worker from reaching the edge of a surface.

The contractor Welldone Inc. failed to ensure the worker was protected by a means of fall protection outlined is section 26.1(2) and thereby violated section 25(1)c of the OHSA. The company entered a guilty plea at court, and will pay the fine, plus a 25-percent victim fine surcharge.