Date of incident: September 2023
Notice of incident number: 2023195020019
Employers: Labour supply company; community services society (prime contractor)

Incident summary
A security guard at a recycling depot was attempting to re-align a rolling chain-link fence gate. The gate fell onto the security guard, and he sustained fatal injuries.

Investigation conclusions

Cause

• Broken rolling gate fell on top of worker. The rolling chain-link fence gate had been broken earlier that evening and left open, leaving the premises unsecured. The security guard attempted to fix the broken gate by lifting it back on to its rollers, but the gate fell on top of him.

Contributing factors

• Lack of communication and safety supervision. Although the prime contractor was aware that the rolling gate was broken, that fact had not been reported to the site manager or to anyone at the site. The prime contractor did not fulfill its responsibility to ensure that the security guard or the security guard’s employer (a labour supply firm) were aware of the condition of the broken rolling gate. In addition, the security guard was working alone with no on-site supervision, and his employer did not conduct regular check-ins with him while he worked alone.
• Health and safety programs not effectively implemented.
  • The security guard’s employer did not keep any records of worker training and orientation. In addition, it did not have any written policies and procedures; in particular, it had not established a working-alone policy and procedure. The lack of any records demonstrates that the employer did not have an effective health and safety program.
  • The prime contractor’s health and safety program, policies, and procedures were robust, but at the time of the incident they were not followed, and the site manager was not informed about the broken gate. This created an unsafe workplace for the security guard and others at the site. The rolling gate had been previously damaged and had not been fixed, despite the prime contractor knowing that the gate had been jamming, was falling off its rollers, and was getting stuck consistently.

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