A ladder that did not meet fall protection standards was one of the main causes leading to the death of a worker in Sainte-Élisabeth, in the Lanaudière region, according to Quebec’s work health safety board.

On Oct. 8, the worker, employed by Les sols Christian inc., was tasked with checking the contents of a grain silo at the Soya Rive-Nord facility.

To do so, he climbed the silo’s fixed ladder but lost his footing and fell a total of 10.6 meters, according to the Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST) in its report released on Thursday.

He was transported to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The CNESST emphasized that the fatal workplace accident could have been prevented if regulations regarding fall protection on fixed ladders had been followed.

In particular, the upper section of the silo ladder had been modified in 2024, and these modifications were made “without consulting the applicable regulations,” the inspectors noted in their report.

“Since the ladder has a total length of 7.9 meters and allows for a free fall of more than 15 meters, the ladder modification work needed to include a fall arrest device compliant with applicable standards,” they said.

The report acknowledged that the employer provided harnesses to the workers, but “the two positioning hooks were not suitable for climbing a ladder.”

Furthermore, “there was no training or guidance regarding their safe use,” the inspectors added.

“The failure to adequately address occupational health and safety regarding the required fall protection exposed the worker to a risk of a fatal fall,” concluded the CNESST.