Technical Safety BC: Regarding a recent incident involving a gondola in Quebec
We were deeply saddened to hear about the recent incident that occurred at the Mont-Tremblant resort village in Quebec, where a drilling rig working near an operating passenger ropeway contacted a gondola cabin, resulting in serious injuries to one passenger and one fatality.
Due to the nature of this incident, we want to inform all passenger ropeway and passenger conveyor contractors of potentially unsafe conditions where equipment (vehicles, cranes, construction equipment) is operating in proximity to operating passenger ropeways.
Over time, the use of operating equipment near passenger ropeways has increased due to year-around and village resort operations, construction, and advancements in snow grooming and snowmaking equipment, leading to hazards related to maintaining required clearances.
We would like to remind passenger ropeway contractors that policies and procedures should be developed and implemented that address hazards while equipment is being operated within the vicinity of operating ropeways. The policies and procedures developed by the passenger ropeway contractor should be conveyed to all relevant parties including operations personnel, maintenance personnel, and third-party contractors that are performing any work in the general area of passenger ropeways. Third party contractors should be supervised and directed to ensure that ropeway clearances are maintained.
In particular, passenger ropeway contractors must maintain the minimum required clearances established by the CSA: Z98-14. These clearances must be maintained under all foreseeable conditions to ensure that all potential contact between equipment and the passenger ropeway is eliminated.
Should you have any questions or concerns, we encourage you to contact us for further information.
Sincerely,
Nav Chahal,
Provincial Safety Manager – Passenger Ropeways
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