BC Government Wants Stronger Crane Operating Requirements

[Correction note: This article has been updated to reflect that crane operation is a Red Seal-certified trade.]

The B.C. government wants contractors overseeing crane operations to go through a more rigorous certification program, said Labour Minister Jennifer Whiteside.

The change is part of a slate of updates to how cranes will be permitted and licensed that the minister announced March 3, in response to a series of fatal crane incidents in B.C. that have killed workers and a passerby.

“We've had seven fatalities in the last five years, a situation that is just completely unacceptable,” Whiteside told The Tyee.

The changes include new permits to build and move cranes, a new safety certification for contractors overseeing the work, and an overhaul of the existing certification for crane operators.

“That will be very important in ensuring that workers have the necessary skills and education to safely do that work,” Whiteside said.

The exact details of the certification are not yet clear, but Whiteside said the government plans to table legislation outlining the changes by this fall.

An industry association and a union for B.C. crane operators said in a press release the changes are a significant step toward safety.

“It is important that we take meaningful measures to help prevent tragedies before they occur,” said Clinton Connell, executive director at the BC Association for Crane Safety. “Licensing and permitting frameworks are a practical way to manage accountability and shared responsibilities within the industry.”

Bryan Railton, business manager at International Union of Operating Engineers Local 115, said in a March 3 press release that licensing and permitting have proven to reduce risks for workers in high-hazard industries.

“By ensuring that only qualified employers oversee crane work and operations, we can continue to help reduce the risk of catastrophic failures before they happen,” Railton said.

IUOE 115, which represents more than 14,000 workers in B.C. and Yukon including mechanics, heavy equipment operators and crane operators, has been calling for better safety measures following a series of fatal crane incidents.

In 2021, five men were crushed to death when a 90-metre tower crane collapsed in Kelowna.

Three years later, a woman was killed in Vancouver after a crane building the Oakridge Park development dropped its load.

According to WorkSafeBC incident reports, the same year, a worker on Vancouver Island was helping a tower crane operator handle a panel wall that was leaned up against a rock face. As the worker climbed to the back of a wall panel to disconnect some lifting clutches — handles that allow the wall to be lifted by the crane — the panel fell, fatally injuring the worker.

Not all of B.C.’s high-profile crane incidents were fatal.

In 2024, during a construction fire in Vancouver’s Dunbar neighbourhood, a nearby tower crane toppled over, knocking out power to a city block and demolishing one home.

Months later, against its operators’ intent, another crane near a SkyTrain station started lowering a seven-tonne wall panel after a mechanical failure.

Workers operating cranes in B.C. have already been required to register with the BC Crane Safety Association since 2007. They are a Red Seal-certified trade.

Whiteside told The Tyee that program only requires crane operators to take a “very basic online course.”

That’s a claim disputed by Connell with the BC Crane Safety Association. Connell said in an email that training crane operators must take an online proctored exam and pass a mandatory practical assessment before being certified to operate a crane.

He added operators must accumulate 5,400 hours of practical experience operating mobile cranes or up to 3,000 hours of experience operating tower cranes before being fully certified to operate either.

Whiteside said the new licensing program, run by WorkSafeBC, will require workers and their employers to do more rigorous training to get their certification.

She added it will aim to ensure the workers who build, maintain, repair, move and are otherwise responsible for cranes are also held to high-quality safety standards.

WorkSafeBC declined to comment.

The new licensing and permitting regulations are not yet set in stone. Whiteside said she plans to bring them to the legislature as updates to the Workers Compensation Act this fall.

“We know we need stronger regulation, because those bring in the absolute strongest guardrails to protect workers,” she said.

Sean Tucker, an occupational health and safety researcher at the University of Regina, said changes would make cranes safer.

“I think it's great,” Tucker said. “Training, supervision and employer commitment to occupational health and safety are the keys to injury prevention.”

The new laws would need to come with strong enforcement from the province, he said. The latest available data shows WorkSafeBC increased its inspections and enforcement of crane safety regulations.

The agency performed 1,508 inspections of cranes and mobile equipment in 2024 — up 19 per cent from 1,269 inspections during 2023. It also issued 75 crane-related stop-use orders and 36 stop-work orders in 2024, up from 63 stop-use orders and one stop-work order the year prior.

Tucker added the new safety rules could be good news for crane operation in other provinces.

“It’s consistent with B.C. acting as a leader in establishing training standards in Canada,” Tucker said. “I would imagine other jurisdictions will also look at the new legislation this fall and fill the gaps in their own regulations.”

* Story updated on March 24 at 3:21 p.m. to reflect that crane operation is a Red Seal-certified trade.