Beyond the Minimum:
Lessons from a Fatal Incident
This summary from a 2023 Alberta OHS investigation looks at how something as common as moving agricultural fence and wind break panels can be deadly when all of the hazards have not been properly identified, assessed, and controlled.
What Happened
On Feb 1, 2023, workers were moving an agricultural wind break panel using a forklift. While the panel was being moved, a worker started walking next to the panel. The moveable legs on the panel turned, causing it to fall and strike the worker, resulting in their death. The employer was fined a total of $360,000 and a family lost a member.
Corrective Actions After the Incident
Things the employer did to prevent a similar incident from happening again:
Changed to a bolt that passed completely through the support leg assembly of this style of panel.
Required workers to use chains on materials that could shift, tip, or fall to the forklift.
Not allow anyone to stand near or around moving products or equipment without authorization.
Prevention Highlights
Hazard identification, assessment and control need to happen!
Write clear, step-by-step procedures, so workers, volunteers and family members know how to do the job safely.
If equipment or materials could hurt someone, both the employer and worker must do everything reasonable to remove or control the hazard.
If moving a load or equipment could harm workers, the employer must not let anyone stay in the danger zone.
Operators must not move equipment or loads if it could put the worker at risk.
To learn more about preventing incidents like this, refer to to the Alberta FarmSafe Plan Manual or our free, online FarmSafe Plan Learning Program.
Incident Source: Worker fatally struck by falling panel Alberta OHS Investigation file OHS-290382
Help Ensure Agricultural Voices Are Heard
The University of Guelph and the Canadian Centre for Agricultural Wellbeing (CCAW) have launched the 3rd National Survey of Farmer and Rancher Mental Health in Canada. The survey takes around 20 minutes to complete, and your participation enters you into 5 draws to WIN $200!
“This national survey invites farmers and ranchers from all commodities and regions across Canada to share their experiences related to stress, anxiety, depression, burnout, resilience, and coping.
“The results will help build a clearer, more current picture of mental health in agriculture and will be compared with findings from previous national surveys conducted in 2016 and 2021.
“The Canadian Centre for Agricultural Wellbeing (CCAW) is pleased to help amplify this work and support broad participation across the sector. Strong participation helps ensure that future research, programs, and policy decisions are informed by the real experiences of farmers and ranchers.
“Thank you for helping ensure farmer and rancher voices continue to be heard.”
With gratitude,
The CCAW Team
Rural Crime: Report a Suspicious Property
Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods (SCAN) is a unit of the Alberta Sheriffs that helps keep communities safe by dealing with problem properties that are being used for illegal activity.
Need Safety Help on Your Farm?
AgSafe Alberta Advisors understand agriculture, and will use their experience and knowledge to support you in making your farm safer. Qualifying farms can get up to 10 hours of FREE advisor support!
Using Portable Generators Safely
Portable generators are incredibly handy – they can provide power in remote areas or serve as backup during an outage, but they can also be dangerous. Check out this OSHA fact sheet to learn how to use portable generators safely and understand the hazards.
Safety Myth of the Month
“OHS Officers need a warrant to come onto your property.”
This is false. OHS Officers can come onto a work site, including agricultural work sites, at any reasonable time. To learn more about this, refer to Section 34 of the Alberta OHS Act.
Farms, OHS Legislation &
“Basic Safety”
The Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act and Code are meant to keep workplaces healthy and safe. They protect the people working at a worksite, as well as those who may be affected by the work being done. Part 1 of the Alberta OHS Act assigns obligations, responsibilities, and duties to individuals and organizations. The Alberta OHS Code provides minimum technical requirements for health and safety in Alberta’s workplaces (Government of Alberta, n.d.).
At the time of publication, only the Alberta OHS Act and Part 13 of the OHS Code directly apply to Alberta farms and ranches. Farming and ranching operations are defined in legislation as:
Producing crops, including fruits and vegetables, through land cultivation
Raising and maintaining animals or birds
Keeping bees
This means that to a degree, the rest of the OHS Code only indirectly applies to farms and ranches and the full OHS Code applies directly to anything else, such as activities related to processing.
By now, you are likely thinking “but that can’t be true, the Government of Alberta website even states that farms and ranches are only responsible for basic safety.” Unfortunately, it is not as simple or clear as you might think, so let’s take a moment to understand this better.
The Government of Alberta website states the information in bold below, followed by a short explanation.
“Farms and ranches with at least one waged, non-family worker are covered by the basic safety standards set out in the OHS Act.”
What you should understand:
When it comes to anything related to law, definitions matter. The OHS Act does not define what basic safety standards are, nor is the author aware of anyone receiving a clear written explanation as to what Alberta OHS considers “basic standards” to be.
Both the OHS Act and OHS Code provide “minimum standards for health, safety, and wellness in Alberta’s workplaces” (Government of Alberta, n.d.).
Employers are responsible for ensuring the health, safety, and welfare of the workers engaged in their work as far as reasonably practicable (Alberta OHS Act, S3(1)).
In some cases, the minimum may not reflect what is reasonably practicable for the employer, the work, and/or the circumstances. To justify what the farm believes to be reasonably practicable, it will need to rely on its farm-specific hazard and risk assessments (as opposed to templates the farm is provided by an outside body that it simply has to print off and do nothing else with).
“Producers with waged, non-family workers must follow generally acceptable industry standards (and) apply general health and safety principles.”
What you should understand:
Everything reasonably practicable is written directly into the OHS Act, “generally acceptable standards” and “general health and safety principles” are not, nor are they defined anywhere in the OHS Act. This underscores the importance of doing everything reasonably practicable to protect the health, safety, and well-being of the people performing work for the farm.
“OHS rules only apply to an operation if a waged, non-family worker is present on the farm or ranch, and then only to those individuals.”
What you should understand:
Don’t be confused by this wording or take it at face value. If you are a family member (e.g., the child of the farm owner, a sibling of the farm owner, etc.), you can still be looked at as a supervisor or other worksite party detailed in the OHS Act when there are workers present.
Regardless of your role on the farm, when there are workers present, at a minimum you still have to work safely and in a way that protects the health and safety of other workers at or near the work site. For example:
You can’t cause or participate in harassment or violence.
You can’t do things that endanger others, such as show up to work under the influence of drugs or alcohol or operate machinery in a dangerous way.
If you have questions about this, reach out to us at info@agsafeab.ca.
Safety Toolbox
Your go-to for quick, easy access to safety tips, tools, and training.
All of AgSafe Alberta’s paid courses are FREE until May 31, 2026, using promo code SAFESTART26
Regular, thorough hand-washing is a simple, low-cost and very effective way to prevent all types of illnesses, including respiratory infections. Print off this Effective hand-washing guide from the Center for Agricultural Safety and Health and share it with your farm team members.
When budgets tighten, safety often gets cut, but the hidden costs can be huge! This article explores why reducing safety investment leads to greater financial risk, regulatory exposure, and operational disruption. Check out When Safety Becomes Optional, Risk Becomes Inevitable from OHS Online.
Looking for a toolbox talk? Check out this Substance use and workplace impairment toolbox meeting guide from WorkSafe BC.