If you’re a small-business owner planning to do some renovations to your property, you would do well to keep in mind a WorkSafeBC case involving former B.C. premier and current Canadian high commissioner to the U.K. Gordon Campbell.
Last year, a roofing worker assisting with a renovation on Campbell’s summer home on the Sunshine Coast fell through an unfinished open skylight to his death 18 feet below. He was apparently wearing what’s termed a fall arrest harness. It would normally keep him from falling if properly anchored to something solid, but his harness was not fastened to an anchor line.
Campbell was censured by WorkSafeBC for not ensuring there were property safety practices in place on his jobsite, however the fact that it was Campbell’s home really has little to do with the story. The real story here is that in B.C., if you are building a new structure or carrying out any kind of buildout or renovation work on any type of property – commercial or residential – and do not designate one of the contractors (i.e. a “general” contractor) as the “prime contractor” on the job, YOU will be considered as the prime contractor.
Campbell unfortunately forgot to do this. In that unenviable position, he was (and you will be) held responsible for ensuring that all workers on the job comply with WorkSafeBC health and safety regulations and held potentially financially liable for any workers who are not registered with WorkSafeBC.
This may sound a little absurd, as practically speaking how are property owners or lessees supposed to be aware of all the WorkSafeBC regulations governing workers in the province? Nonetheless, this is indeed the case.
Follow the plan
Contained in the background to this unfortunate story is some very important information that all B.C. property owners or leaseholders should be made aware of. Here are some key items that the prime contractor (PC) on a job site, whether the designated PC or the property owner or the actual leaseholder, must ensure is present on the site.
There should be a written contract between the owner/leaseholder of the property and the directing contractor designating him or her as the “prime contractor.”
This shifts the worksite responsibility from the owner/leaseholder to the PC. Together these two principals must ensure that there is a notice of project posted on site, with the various areas of worker responsibility outlined on it.
The prime contractor must then appoint a qualified co-ordinator to ensure the co-ordination of health and safety activities for the worksite and hold regular site meetings to ensure regulation compliance.
Further, this co-ordinator must have assigned duties so that potential hazards are addressed and clear communication exists between the prime contractor and the subtrades in order to identify foreseeable site hazards and remedy them.
Subcontractors must also provide the PC with the name(s) of the person(s) designated to supervise their respective workers.
Lastly, the prime contractor must have a system in place to ensure that regular inspections are carried out to minimize unsafe practices and conditions on the job site. Also ensure that the PC is registered with WorkSafeBC.
Ask for their account number and a clearance letter (which means account is paid up) and check that again at the end of the project. Also make sure the PC carries adequate liability insurance and ask for proof.
To be sure, the above “package’ could prove a daunting task to institute and maintain for property owners/leaseholders acting as general contractors on their own builds or renovations. After all, assuming they have their own businesses to run, it is very likely that they would not be present on the job site for much of the day.
There are even more detail-oriented duties that the PC has to keep up with and monitor.
As Campbell’s case clearly illustrates, B.C. business owners should think long and hard before deciding to act as their own general or “prime” contractor on any new construction or buildout project they decide to undertake. •
Neil Hamilton is a senior property adviser with Macdonald Realty with expertise in buying, selling and leasing residential and commercial properties throughout the Lower Mainland. He can be reached at 604-569-1940 or [email protected].
