B.C. crane incidents renew calls for training

Some experts are calling for stronger regulations and training, after two different cranes collapsed in Metro Vancouver in less than a week.

On Tuesday, a crane “failed” at a Surrey construction site. Just days prior, on Thursday, a crane in Burnaby also collapsed.

Josh Towsley, assistant business manager with the International Union of Operating Engineers, explains while it’s rare for these kinds of things to happen, two cases in just a matter of days speaks to the need for more regulatory measures.

“If the Kelowna tower crane collapse wasn’t the impetus for B.C. to become leaders in tower crane safety, I don’t know what is, but we’re not and we need to be and these two incidents are further indications of why,” he said, referring to the fatal collapse of a crane in the Okanagan in 2021, which left five people dead.

Proper training and certification are two factors that also need to be addressed, he says.

Towsley tells The Leader Spirit the union has been pushing for operators to receive mandatory certification for tower crane operations through Skilled Trades BC. This training would require anyone working as a tower crane operator to either possess a journeyperson certification or to be a registered apprentice.

“If we look at the incident both in Kelowna and in Burnaby, those were during disassembly. What we need through WorkSafe is licensing of the contractors that do that work and mandatory certifications for workers that work in that industry,” Towsley added.

He is calling on all levels of government and regulators involved in the industry to step up.

“Delaying regulatory change now is not an option, the industry needs the full attention of the regulators,” he said.

In both Surrey and Burnaby, WorkSafeBC has issued stop-work and stop-use orders as its teams investigate what happened.