Alan Fraser's workplace hit with safety orders before fatality

A Halifax company under investigation for a workplace death last year was hit with more than a dozen safety orders in the two and a halfyears leading up to the fatality, CBC News has learned.

Construction worker Alan Fraser, 21, died Nov. 7, 2013, after fallingfrom the roof of a six storey building under construction inClayton Park. The construction site is owned by Parkland Construction.

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A CBC Nova Scotia Investigation has learned the Department of Labourissued Parkland Construction 17 safety orders between Feb. 14, 2011and Nov. 7, 2013.

Parkland was ordered to pay three fines totalling $4,400.

The orders related to work on three Halifax-area construction sites.On all three sites, the company was ordered to install guardrails or other measures to prevent workers from falling.

Timeline

• Feb. 14, 2011: The company was ordered to install guardrails or safetyharnesses for workers at a site at 290 Larry Uteck Dr. It was alsoordered to provide adequate headwear and to provide a type of chute tohandle debris at that address.
• Feb. 26, 2013: The company was ordered to install adequate fall protection at 112 Greenpark Close. It was also ordered to securecompressed gas cylinders and powder-activated tools. At 110 GreenparkClose, where Alan Fraser worked, inspectors issued two sets of safetyorders.
• Aug. 29, 2013: Parkland Construction was ordered to install guardrails, supervise fall-related issues, require fall protection forpeople at risk of falling more than three metres, and repair a ladder.
• Oct. 11, 2013: The company was ordered to create a written fallprotection plan, ensure workers had fall protection training andprovide proof of scheduling.

Questions remain

Fraser's parents tell CBC News they still don't know whether their sonwas wearing a harness or any type of fallprotection and they don't know if he had received training to work at that height.

Department of Labour investigators are still looking into Fraser's death. Labour Minister Kelly Regan says she can't, at this point,reveal any details or say how long it will take.

"We owe it to the families and to young Mr. Fraser to do a thoroughjob on the investigation so that we know what really happened there and, if charges are appropriate, that we can lay them and that we laythe appropriate charge and that they stick," she said.

In a written statement, Parkland Construction owner James Kanellakos says the company is co-operating fully with the investigation and itsthoughts are with Fraser's family and friends.

"We can assure you that Parkland Construction places significantemphasis on the health and safety of its employees," the statement said.

The department has two years to complete its investigation.