Accident stops construction at Children's Hospital worksite

Construction has been halted on the new Saskatchewan Children’s Hospital following a job site accident.
 
A forklift moving construction materials smashed through a window at Royal University Hospital (RUH), which sits adjacent to the site.
 
The window was located in an area used to prepare patients for surgery. No patients or staff were in the area at the time of the incident and no injuries were reported.
 
Duane Galloway, director of commercial construction for contractor Graham Construction, explained that the incident was the result of a lapse by the spotting team present for the lift.
 
He said no employees were being disciplined.
 
Dan Florizone, president and CEO of the Saskatoon Health Region, said he’d already had high-level meetings with management from Graham about the incident.
 
Florizone said construction won’t start again until the health region is satisfied with a new safety plan that Graham is putting together for the site. He said Monday was the earliest it would be possible for work to resume.
 
The incident isn’t expected to affect the final completion date for the hospital, which should be operational by early 2019.