Journal of Commerce | Jean Sorensen | August 29, 2025
Members of B.C.’s construction crane industry want WorkSafeBC (WSBC) to set a provincial standard for riggers to fill a critical regulatory void which now allows individuals with little or no formal training to load tower cranes with thousands of pounds of material and pass over a workplace.
That process is a step closer as WSBC plans to host industry sessions this fall to validate an industry framework for rigging competency it is putting together. A provincial standard would help mitigate “the rigging issues that have plagued our industry of late,” said outspoken advocate Josh Towsley, assistant business manager for the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 115.
A WSBC review was triggered by 2024’s troubling incidents such as the worker death at Vancouver’s Oakridge development when a flytable fell, plus a second rigging incident as a fallen load narrowly missed traffic and damaged transit lines, while at Hastings Street and Glen Drive beams were dropped. In Victoria, two men were injured when tons of concrete form fell from the load.
Ralf Notheis, manager of the Bigfoot Crane Academy and a veteran of three decades in the industry supports a provincial standard, said rigging has remained under- regulated and a “wild west” where most working in the industry are under qualified.
WSBC is reviewing (OHS) Regulations that relate to the crane industry, including Section 15 on rigging. Section 15 currently requires riggers to be a qualified worker or under the direct supervision of a qualified individual. The OHSR defines qualified as meaning being “knowledgeable of the work, the hazards involved and the means to control the hazards, by reason of education, training, experience, or a combination thereof”, according to WSBC.
Towsley said that regulation is more subjective than setting out the competency requirements. And, WSBC acknowledges: “There is currently no requirement for formal training or certification for rigging.”
At issue is what is considered knowledge and how it is gained. Both Towsley and Notheis are critical of online course where after a few study hours, one can print off a certificate.
Towsley said his union has a rigging component as does the ironworkers union where experienced journeymen can teach apprentices. Unions also have the advantage of having journeymen supervising apprentices on the jobsite. Towsley said: “One thing that has been seen in the industry – and I have spoken a little about – is the aging workers retiring with younger workers with less experience coming in. Robust training is more important today than it has ever been.”
Supervision of riggers can also be an issue, said Notheis, as even an entry level rigger course may have more expertise than those supervising. The issue becomes more complex as there are union training centres, private trainers with schools or ability to train on site as well as online courses. There is no standard course curriculum and training facilities issue their own certification.
Notheis said that for training to be effective it needs three components: classroom and practical learning, a written test and evaluation of the individual’s performance with a threshold mark to pass, and finally accredited certification.
Reform is expected to begin this fall as WSBC meets with industry. WSBC initiated a crane industry review following 2024 and brought together 150 representatives from throughout the industry to identify and provide insight into key areas where accidents are occurring. Rigging was identified as one of six key areas again.
“WorkSafeBC will be facilitating industry and worker sessions starting this fall to validate a competency framework for safe rigging activities in construction,” WSBC said in a statement.
The difference between competency and qualified is, according to WSBC, having defined skills and knowledge to achieve the state of qualification.
“Our objective with producing a competency framework is to articulate the specific knowledge, skills and abilities required to safely conduct rigging activities in construction,” WSBC said.
The framework will serve two purposes; one is to inform for downstream regulatory amendments and to “explicitly identify what knowledge skills are abilities required for various rigging activities.”
Fraser Cocks, the executive director of Canadian Hoist and Rigging Safety Council, agrees that the current B.C. regulations leave too much to “everyone’s interpretation.” He also agrees with a provincial standard but also wants to see rigger designated as a dedicated trade in Canada as it is in the U.S. He hopes what will evolve is a Canadian Red Seal standard for rigging that will mesh with what the provinces are establishing so that there are less safety risks, accountability issues and barriers to labour mobility.
Currently, Alberta is also working on standards but independent of what is occurring in B.C., Cocks said. Alberta has not escaped rigging fatalities. In March 2025, Suncor Energy Services Inc., Joy Global Canada Ltd., and NCSG Crane & Heavy Haul Services Ltd. Were convicted in the 2022 death of a 26-year-old worker and fined $1.2 million.
The two provinces are a beginning of national talks to harmonize standards, said Cocks.
“We have to have a baseline as a starting point and we don’t have that yet,” he said.