Worker Killed by Falling Pallets, Company Fined $290K — Why Warehouse Barriers Aren't Optional

Bill Sherstobitoff went to work at Great Little Box Company's Richmond, BC facility and never came home. He was struck and killed by falling pallets that collapsed from racking that lacked adequate protection and safety infrastructure. The company was later fined $290,548 by WorkSafeBC — one of the largest warehouse safety fines in recent BC history.

The investigation found "inadequate" risk assessments and "high-risk violations" including absent rack protection, insufficient load limits, and a lack of proper warehouse barrier systems. In other words, the company knew — or should have known — that its warehouse was unsafe, and did nothing about it until a worker died.

It was too little, too late. They didn't start making changes until after my dad died.— Bill Sherstobitoff's family, speaking to CBC News

What Happened at Great Little Box Company

Great Little Box Company is a corrugated packaging manufacturer operating a large warehouse and production facility in Richmond, BC. The facility handles heavy palletized loads stored on industrial racking systems — the same type of operation found in thousands of warehouses across Canada.

On the day of the incident, Bill Sherstobitoff was working near loaded pallet racking when pallets shifted and collapsed, striking him with fatal force. The investigation revealed systemic failures in the facility's safety infrastructure:

The Root Cause: Absent Warehouse Barriers

The WorkSafeBC investigation pointed to a fundamental failure: the warehouse lacked the physical safety infrastructure required to protect workers from the hazards inherent in industrial pallet racking operations.

In a properly protected warehouse, this death would not have occurred. Here's why:

Rack column guards absorb forklift impacts before they reach the structural upright. Repeated minor forklift contacts — which happen daily in busy warehouses — gradually weaken unprotected rack columns. Over time, a column that has absorbed dozens of small impacts loses its structural integrity. When a heavy load is placed on weakened racking, the system fails catastrophically.

Guard rails create physical separation between forklift traffic and personnel, racking, walls, and other assets. In facilities without guard rails, forklifts operate in close proximity to rack structures, increasing the frequency and severity of impacts.

End-of-aisle barriers protect the exposed ends of racking runs at cross-aisles — the highest-impact zone in most warehouses, where forklifts make turns and have the least room to maneuver.

Pedestrian barriers create separated walkways through active forklift zones, ensuring workers on foot are never in the path of moving equipment.

The $290K Fine — And What It Really Costs

The WorkSafeBC fine of $290,548 is significant, but it's only a fraction of the total cost this incident imposed:

Compare this to the cost of prevention: a comprehensive warehouse barrier system for a facility of this size typically costs $15,000–$40,000 installed. That's less than 5% of the fine alone.

This Happens More Often Than You Think

The Great Little Box Company incident is not an outlier. Warehouse fatalities from racking failures, forklift impacts, and falling loads happen across Canada with disturbing regularity:

Each of these incidents involved the same systemic failure: warehouses operating without adequate barrier protection.

What Every Warehouse Operator Should Install

A comprehensive warehouse barrier system includes four key components:

1. 1Guard rails — Heavy-gauge steel rails mounted on floor-anchored posts along traffic routes, protecting racking, walls, doors, electrical panels, and personnel areas. Standard guard rails absorb impacts from forklifts at operational speeds (4–6 km/h)

1. 1Column protectors / rack guards — Wrap-around protectors for structural columns and rack uprights. These absorb impact energy before it damages the structural element. Every exposed rack upright should have a column guard, especially at end-of-aisle positions

1. 1End-of-aisle barriers — Dedicated heavy-duty barriers at the exposed ends of racking runs where cross-aisle traffic creates the highest impact risk. These are the most frequently damaged positions in any warehouse

1. 1Pedestrian safety rails — Separated walkways for foot traffic through active forklift zones. Increasingly required by provincial occupational health and safety regulations across Canada

The ROI Is Immediate

A warehouse barrier system for a typical 50,000 sq ft facility costs $15,000–$40,000 installed. The average cost of a single significant forklift-to-rack impact is $2,000–$8,000 when you factor in structural assessment, component replacement, product damage, and operational downtime.

Most busy warehouses experience 10–20 forklift impacts per year. That's $20,000–$160,000 in annual preventable damage. A barrier system pays for itself within the first year — often within the first few months.

And that calculation doesn't even include the incalculable cost of a worker's life.