There are fewer injuries and deaths occurring on B.C. construction sites compared to previous years and decades, although much work remains to ensure worker safety.
“Struck by’s,” “falls from” and “trips and slips” are among the most common incidents on job sites, and major events like Kelowna’s deadly crane collapse in 2021 highlight the risks that accompany modern construction.
Work-related death claims in the construction sector totalled 31 in 2020, 29 in 2021, 54 in 2022, 39 in 2023 and 25 in 2024, according to data provided by WorkSafeBC, the provincial agency that enforces safe and healthy workplaces.
The numbers include historical claims from exposures to materials like asbestos, according to Dave Baspaly, president of the Council of Construction Associations (COCA), which represents all major construction associations in B.C.
Baspaly notes significant improvements in workplace safety over recent decades. The injury rate has dropped to 3.3 in 2024, from 7.3 per 100 workers in 1992.
The “precipitous” reduction in risk has led to a projected all-time low in WorkSafeBC assessment rates—akin to insurance premiums—to $0.64 per $100 of payroll in 2026, from $5.83 in 1992, Baspaly said.
“These remarkable improvements in workplace health and safety represent more than statistics—they reflect our industry’s commitment to protecting workers while maintaining operational sustainability,” he said.
Teamwork needed
Unions play an important role in safety. The unionization rate for B.C. construction workers ranges from 13 to 16 per cent of the total workforce, with the BC Construction Association reporting 33,000 of 251,707 workers (13 per cent) as unionized, Baspaly said.
“Unions provide additional safety advocacy, training, and programming and help protect workers and maintain site safety,” he said.
Organized labour shouldn’t be a fault line, Baspaly said, but rather an opportunity to work as a team because safety is in everyone’s best interest.
Ken McCormack, president and CEO of the management-side Construction Labour Relations Association of B.C., said construction employers have made significant strides in advancing health and safety over the past decade—from stronger commitments to training to more proactive approaches to hazard identification and mental health.
Employers are investing in technologies and practices to improve site safety, although the big challenge is ensuring consistency across such a diverse industry, he said.
Incidents continue to occur
When an incident does happen, the costs can be high, and bring a company to its knees.
A 2021 crane collapse killed five people in Kelowna, for example, with police recommending a charge of criminal negligence causing death. (The BC Prosecution Service was still conducting a charge assessment as of March 2025, reported Castanet.)
“The actual ripples of that incident happened across the entire province, probably in Alberta, as people were just stunned that people that they knew not only were impacted by it, but it destroyed families, friendships, everything else by the catastrophic circumstance,” said Baspaly.
A female construction worker was killed in February 2024 at the Oakridge Park development site in Vancouver after being struck by a concrete mould that fell 26 storeys, reported The Canadian Press.
A more recent incident occurred on Aug. 21 this year, when a construction worker was seriously injured while working on a crane in Vancouver’s West End, reported CityNews. The worker’s leg was reportedly struck by a power cord in the mast of the crane, requiring hospitalization.
The prevalence of crane-related incidents has resulted in special attention and regulation.
By the end of 2024, there were somewhere between 350 to 400 tower cranes operating in the province, according to WorkSafeBC.
At the time, WorkSafeBC said risks associated with cranes are increasing because of their number and operation at increasingly complex, multi-employer worksites.
“The sheer size of the projects and the amount of activity taking place increases the risk profile,” the agency told BIV.
Jen Mutas, field occupational health and safety manager with BC Crane Safety, said it’s up to the crane operator, their supervisor, employer and site management to mitigate risk.
“High-risk activity such as critical lifts are required to be carefully planned, documented, and communicated to everyone directly involved in the task on site before it begins,” she said.
In an effort to prevent accidents, B.C.’s Occupational Health and Safety Regulation mandates arranging work to avoid passing loads over people, carrying loads close to the ground, and maintaining adequate safety measures—such as notifying neighbouring properties.
The list of new regulations for crane operators has grown in recent years. They now require anti-collision devices to ensure safe distances from restricted areas, and a formal supervised submission process when installing, repositioning or dismantling cranes.
Amendments are also underway to mandate the certification of tower cranes as safe for use by a professional engineer. Other proposed changes would require inspection and certification of the major parts of a tower crane at least once every 12 months before being put into service.
According to COCA’s Baspaly, the industry’s improved safety record is a result of more training, stricter enforcement of WorkSafeBC rules, and a culture of compliance where non-adherence is not tolerated. He emphasizes that proactive measures, like rigorous inspections and coordinated site management, are making construction sites safer.
“The more eyes you get on the problem, the safer the situation gets over time,” Baspaly said.
