Saskatoon roofing company fined $18K for safety violations

Saskatoon's Wintringham Roofing Ltd. has pleaded guilty to eight safety violations. For the offences, the courts have slappedthe independent construction firm with more than $18,000 in fines.

Six of thecharges stem from the company's failure to ensure its workers were using the correctfall protection gear. Wintringham Roofing Ltd. pleaded guilty to all six charges and was fined $8,250 with a $3,300 surcharge.

It has always been kind of a macho, cowboy attitude when it comes to the construction business in Saskatchewan,- Greg Wintringham

The other two charges stemfrom the construction company's failure to ensure that all work at a place of employment was sufficiently supervised. For these infractions the court fined the company $2,700 with a $1,080 surcharge.Both of these charges also saw the company's owner, GregWintringham,and employee, Al Stewart, pay individual fines totalling $2,800.

Dangerous behaviour commonplace

Wintringhamsaid Mondaythe charges and fines were not a surprise to him. However, hetold CBC News that what his workers have been found guilty ofis commonplace in the residential construction industry.

"In Saskatoon, if you were to drive out into a construction area or in Regina for that matter you're going to see framers, siding guys, roofers, electricians, plumbers, all of these workers, and very rarely do you find anyone following the OHS rules and regulations," Wintringham said.

Since 2011, Occupational Health and Safety (OHS)has conducted sixdifferent investigations at WintringhamRoofing Ltd. work sites.

Joel Bender is a spokesperson with OHS. He says their investigators willrecommend that charges be laid against a construction company if a failure to comply with OHS legislation has:

• contributed to a serious workplace death or injury
• poseda serious risk of injury or death
• showna persistent or flagrant disregard for OHSlegislation

"[For Wintringham Roofing Ltd.] it would have been a case of non compliance posing a serious risk of injury or death to a worker," Bender said. "Given that falls are a significant source of injury and death to workers who work in residential construction."

Wintringhamtold CBC News that some of his employees were in violation of OHS legislation stipulating a fall protection system must be in place for anyone working on a structure at an elevation of 3metres or higher.

However, he saidthat some workers areindifferent towards the OHS safety regulations on construction sites and thatmakes it hard to keep everyone in check.

"It has always been kind of a macho, cowboy attitude when it comes to the construction business in Saskatchewan," Wintringham said.

"But, like I say, things have started to change, and I believe of course all of the changes are for the better."

Calvert Construction in Regina was alsofined for similar safety violations last month. They pleaded guilty to two infractions and were fined $760.