Worker falls after touching live circuit board

Kone Inc., a London, ON elevator and escalator manufacturer, was fined $90,000 after a worker on a ladder received an electrical shock, fell to a concrete floor, and sustained wrist and facial fractures.

In September 2008, a Kone Inc. worker was fixing the circuit board for an elevator at the University of Western Ontario. While standing on a ladder in the pit and shaft area of the elevator, the worker touched the back of the circuit board, received an electrical shock, and fell. The worker was not using rubber gloves, mats, shields or other equipment to protect against electrical shock.

Lift truck operator breaks leg

Improper installation of a loading dock bridge led to a worker’s broken leg and an $80,000 fine for Sobeys Capital Incorporated.

The incident occurred in October 2008, while a worker at a Sobeys grocery store in Toronto, ON was using a small lift truck to unloading skids of ice cream from a truck trailer. To span the gap between the loading dock and the trailer, the worker used a dock bridge, a metal plate attached to the floor. When the worker drove across the dock bridge, it bounced and came to rest 15 cm above the trailer bed. While reversing out of the trailer with a load of ice cream, the worker's leg became jammed between the lift truck and the raised dock plate, and broke.

An investigation found that the dock bridge had been neither installed according to the manufacturer's instructions, nor properly maintained.

Worker collapses after cutting through cable

Nelco Mechanical Limited, a Kitchener company that installs and maintains heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) units, was fined $65,000 after a worker was shocked and collapsed.

In May 2008, two Nelco workers were using a crane to remove an HVAC unit from the roof of a Toronto business. A few days earlier, Nelco's site supervisor told the workers that the power to the HVAC unit was disconnected. After the workers attached the unit to the crane and started to lift it, they noticed the power cable was still attached. Believing that the 600-volt cable had been de-energized, one of the workers used sheet metal cutters to cut it. The worker received a shock, lost consciousness and collapsed. The unit's power supply had not been disconnected.

Nelco Mechanical Limited pleaded guilty to failing to ensure the power supply to the HVAC unit was disconnected, locked out of service and tagged before, and while, any work was done, a violation of section 190(4) of O. Reg. 213.

Workers, student burned by arc flash

An August 2008 incident at Abitibi Consolidated Company of Canada’s Fort Frances, ON paper mill led to burn injuries and a $125,000 fine.

The incident occurred when two electricians at the paper mill were changing the power box for part of a paper machine. The power to the box had been locked out. However, the power to the cabinet containing the box had not.

As the electricians removed the power box, they noticed a cable inside the cabinet that needed to be moved. One of them reached into the cabinet with a tool to remove a clamp holding the cable in place. The tool made electrical contact with a live conductor inside the cabinet, which created an arc flash. This caused another arc flash from the live conductors overhead.

The two electricians suffered first, second and third degree burns. A student who was watching them suffered first degree burns.

The company pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that a tool was not used near a live electrical installation to prevent electrical contact with a live conductor, a violation of O. Reg. 851, section 43.

Source files: unless otherwise indicated, Ontario Ministry of Labour

Forklift incidents kill 2

Ford Motor Company of Canada Limited was fined $850,000 following two separate incidents involving lift trucks.

In January 2009, a worker driving a lift truck carrying an unsecured pallet was killed at Ford's Bramalea, ON parts distribution centre. While the worker was driving down a narrow aisle, the pallet struck a storage rack. The worker was crushed between the pallet and the vehicle. A Ministry of Labour investigation found that Ford's material movement policies and procedures were inadequate.

In January 2008, a worker was fatally injured at Ford's Oakville, ON assembly plant after being crushed between two forklifts. The worker was standing beside a forklift when a co-worker reversed another forklift into the worker. A Ministry of Labour investigation found that the forklift operator had not maintained a clear view of the vehicle's path of travel while reversing.

The firm pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to take all reasonable precautions in the circumstances to protect the safety of the workers (section 25(2)(h) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act).

Worker struck by falling slag

Hamilton Specialty Bar (2007) Inc. of Hamilton, ON was fined $60,000 for failing to protect a worker from falling material. The incident resulted in injuries to a worker's arm, shoulder and back. The firm produces hot rolled carbon and low alloy specialty bar quality steel, mostly for the automotive market.

In September 2008, workers were installing a new part in a large furnace used to melt scrap metal. The furnace's roof was open so that the part could be lowered into the furnace with a chain hoist. While one of the workers was guiding the chain by hand, the chain block, which protects the hoist's pulleys, hit the open roof. This caused a piece of slag to fall about 12 metres, striking the worker who was guiding the chain.

Hamilton Specialty Bar (2007) Inc. pleaded guilty to failing to protect the worker from the falling slag, a violation of section 35 under the Industrial Establishments Regulation (O. Reg. 851). The section requires employers to provide overhead protection where falling material may endanger any worker.

Worker's hand caught in pinch point

Sandvik Canada Inc. was recently fined $115,000 for a violation in which a worker was injured at its Arnprior, ON plant.

In May 2008, the worker was changing a die on a machine used to shape stainless steel tubes. During the changeover, the worker's hand became caught in a pinch point between the machine's rack-and-pinion gears, causing a serious injury.

A Ministry of Labour investigation found that the machine was not locked out.

Sandvik Canada Inc. pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that the machine's moving parts were stopped and blocked during the changeover, as required by section 76 of O. Reg. 851.

Worker pinned by reversing trailer

Failing to use a signaler to help direct a trailer through a shipping bay resulted in a serious injury and a $50,000 fine for the employer, Excel Heavy Haul Transportation Inc.

In April 2008, at the company's facility in Tecumseh, ON, a worker was attaching rigging to a machine so that it could be lifted onto a trailer. The worker had his back to the door of the shipping bay, through which a driver was backing a trailer. The driver did not have a full view of the area behind the trailer, or a signaler to guide the trailer, and pinned the worker to the machine with enough force for a protruding handle on the machine to pierce the worker's leg.

Excel Heavy Haul Transportation Inc. pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that the driver used a signaler to help guide the trailer into the bay, as required by section 56 of O. Reg. 851.

Source files: unless otherwise indicated, Ontario Ministry of Labour

Worker sustains internal injuries

DMI Canada Inc. of St. Catharines, ON was fined $55,000 for violating the Occupational Health and Safety Act following an incident in which a worker was pinned by a cart.

The incident occurred in March 2009, while workers were assembling windmill platforms at the company's Stevensville, ON plant. After workers had used shackles to lift a pre-assembled platform onto a storage cart, one worker was removing the shackles when the cart tipped over, pinning the worker to a wall. The cart contained three platforms weighing about 125 kg each. The worker sustained internal injuries.

DMI Canada Inc. pleaded guilty to failing to ensure the platforms were placed in a manner that prevented them from tipping over, as required by section 45(b) of the Industrial Establishments Regulation (O. Reg. 851).

Re-activated press injures worker's fingers, wrist

Canadian Bank Note Company was fined $75,000 for an incident in which a press closed on a worker. The company supplies security-printed products to the Canadian government, such as currency notes, passports and stamps.

In June 2008, workers at the company's Ottawa, ON plant were restarting a press machine. The machine has two hydraulically powered towers that come together to close the press. Restarting the press involves resetting buttons inside the towers. A worker at the bottom of the towers opened the press slightly to get to the buttons. A second worker on a catwalk accessed the top of the towers to press one of the buttons. At the same time, a third worker at ground level pressed another button. This caused the press to start. The towers closed on the second worker's hand, crushing fingers and fracturing the wrist.

A Ministry of Labour investigation found that, while the press was equipped with a start-up warning device, the device did not sound when the press closed after being opened only a few centimetres.

The firm pled guilty to failing to ensure that the press was equipped with an automatic start-up warning device that sounded when the press was being closed from all positions, a violation of O. Reg. 851, section 33 (“… portions of conveyors or other moving machinery that are not visible from the control station, and where starting up may endanger any worker, shall be equipped with automatic start-up warning devices”).

Die shifts, pinning repair worker

Vaughan, ON-based Martinrea Fabco Metallic Canada Inc., an auto parts manufacturer, was fined $75,000 after a worker was pinned by a 17,000 kg die.

In June 2008, a worker was assigned to repair a die used for stamping car parts. The worker lowered the die on two sets of blocks with an overhead crane. The blocks were stacked one on top of the other. As the worker started to fix the die, it shifted and pinned the worker against a guardrail. The worker sustained leg and pelvis injuries.

A Ministry of Labour investigation found that the blocks were not a uniform length and did not span the full width of the die.

The firm pled guilty to failing to ensure the die was placed on the blocks in a way that did not endanger the safety of the worker, as required by O. Reg. 851, section 45(b). The section states that material, articles or things “shall be transported, placed or stored so that the material, articles or things, (i) will not tip, collapse or fall, and (ii) can be removed or withdrawn without endangering the safety of any worker.”

Sodium hydroxide solution splashes worker

Golden Town Apple Products, an apple processing firm in Clarksburg, ON, was fined $75,000 following a cleaning injury.

The injury occurred in May 2008 while the worker was flushing a production line with a sodium hydroxide solution. While lifting a pail of solution to dump into a tank, the worker's hand slipped, the pail swung forward, and the solution splashed into the worker's eyes, causing permanent eye damage.

The firm pled guilty to failing to ensure that the pail of sodium hydroxide solution was lifted, carried or moved in a way and with safeguards to protect the worker's safety, a violation of O. Reg. 851, section 45(a). The section states that items required to be lifted, carried or moved, shall be lifted, carried or moved in a way that ensures the action does not endanger any worker.

Source files: unless otherwise indicated, Ontario Ministry of Labour

Robot breaks worker's arm

Linamar Holdings Inc. has been fined $100,000 for an incident in which an assembly line robot broke a worker's arm.

In August 2008, an assembly line at the company's plant in Guelph, ON malfunctioned and stopped. To clear the malfunction, a worker entered the affected robot cell — a guarded area in which a robot operates. As soon as the problem was fixed, the robot automatically resumed operation and struck the worker's arm, breaking it.

A Ministry of Labour inspection determined that the worker should have taken the precaution of

• using the robot cell's controller key to switch the robot from automatic to manual mode, and
• removing the key from the switch before entering the cell.

However, the switch setup allowed the worker to remove the key while the robot was still in automatic mode.

Linamar Holdings Inc. pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that the controller key could not be removed from the switch when the robot was in automatic mode, a violation of section 25(2)(h) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. The section requires employers to take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of a worker.

Rotating shaft injures worker's thumb

Earthfresh Foods Corp. a vegetable grower, processor, packer and distributor has been fined $65,000 for a machine guarding incident.

In September 2008, a worker at the firm's Etobicoke, ON plant was sorting potatoes on a conveyor belt. The worker's thumb became caught in a pinch point between the belt and the metal frame of the machine. The worker's thumb was then pulled towards and made contact with a rotating shaft, causing a serious hand injury. Neither the pinch point nor the rotating shaft was guarded.

Earthfresh Foods Corp. pled guilty to failing to ensure that all pinch points on the machine were guarded, as required by section 25 of the Industrial Establishments Regulation (O. Reg. 851).

Workers burned by pyrotechnic waste

HFI Pyrotechnics Inc. of Prescott, ON has been fined $50,000 following burn injuries sustained by two workers.

In October 2008, workers were burning waste associated with making pyrotechnics, which had accumulated over the summer. Workers took large bags of the waste from a pickup truck, repackaged it into smaller bags, and placed those bags on a burn pit. One of the bags on the truck ignited, and the fire spread to the rest of the truck. Two workers suffered burn injuries as a result.

While the company had a written procedure for burning waste, it did not

• give specific instructions for waste management, waste accumulation and personal protective equipment
• describe procedures for waste collection and storage

HFI Pyrotechnics Inc. pled guilty to failing to establish a written procedure that incorporated policies for the timely disposal and destruction of pyrotechnic waste, a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, section 25 (2)(h).

Conveyor belt and paper roll catch worker's arm

Rich Products of Canada Limited, a Fort Erie, ON dough maker, has been fined $80,000 after a worker's arm was drawn between a conveyor belt and a roll of paper under it, causing multiple fractures and skin loss.

In December 2008, workers were transferring pieces of dough from one conveyor belt onto sheets of paper on another belt. A roller under the second belt was feeding the paper onto it.

When the roll of paper was almost finished, one worker stooped down by the conveyor belt to replace it. After noticing dough residue on the belt drive, the worker reached up to remove the residue. The worker's arm was then drawn between the conveyor belt and the paper roll.

Rich Products of Canada Limited pled guilty to failing to ensure that the conveyor belt setup had a guard to prevent access to the pinch point between the belt and the roll under it, a violation of O. Reg. 851, section 25.

Source files: unless otherwise indicated, Ontario Ministry of Labour

Pallet truck operator falls from tailgate

Brewers Retail Inc. was fined $120,000 in February for an incident in which a worker fractured his ankle during a delivery.

While delivering beer to an Oshawa, ON restaurant in August 2008, one of two workers wheeled a pallet truck of bottles onto the tailgate of the delivery truck. The tailgate, which could be raised or lowered, had a ramp on its end that when lifted served as a barrier to keep items on the tailgate. Although the second worker raised the tailgate, neither worker lifted the ramp. The first worker, while still on the raised tailgate, then pressed the reverse button on the pallet truck, so that he and the truck fell off the tailgate.

A Ministry of Labour investigation found that the injured worker had not received training on the safe use of the pallet truck or the tailgate. Brewers Retail Inc. pled guilty to failing to ensure materials were moved in a way that would not endanger the safety of any worker, a violation of section 45(a) of the Industrial Establishments Regulation (O. Reg. 851).

Cutter heads amputate two fingers

Ornamental Mouldings Company, a Waterloo, ON manufacturer of wooden mouldings, pleaded guilty and was fined $55,000 for an October 2008 incident in which a moulding machine amputated two of the operator's fingers.

The machine had moving rollers and cutter heads to pass wood through the machine and make the desired cuts. However, it lacked a guard to prevent the operator from touching the cutter head. As the operator was removing sawdust with a rag, the rag was pulled into a cutter head, along with the worker's fingers. Two fingers were instantly amputated.

Ornamental Mouldings Company pled guilty to failing to ensure that the cutter heads were guarded by a guard or other device to prevent access to moving parts, a violation of O. Reg. 851, section 24.

Die crushes foreman's arm

Port Colborne, ON metal forging company IMT Corporation was recently fined $60,000 for failing to ensure a die machine was locked out.

In March 2009, a foreman's arm was crushed when the die descended on his forearm. The worker had been greasing the machine when he unintentionally stepped on a pedal that activated it.

IMT Corporation pleaded guilty to failing to ensure the machine was locked out before being greased, a violation of O. Reg. 851, section 75.

Winding machine catch worker's fingers

Pinch point wasn't guarded. Fine: $50,000

Pintar Manufacturing Corp., a Brampton, ON maker of paintbrushes, rollers and paint applicators, recently pled guilty and was fined $50,000 for failing to ensure that all pinch points on the winder machine were guarded, as required by section 25 of O. Reg. 851.

Charges resulted from an incident in May 2008, when a worker tried to adjust air diverters in an operating winding machine that makes paint rollers. The worker placed his hand inside an unguarded pinch point, and sustained injuries when either a belt or fabric being wound into a paint roller caught his fingers.

Source files: unless otherwise indicated, Ontario Ministry of Labour

Door slams on worker

Jebco Industries Inc., a Barrie, ON manufacturer of metal products, was fined $70,000 for a violation under the Occupational Health and Safety Act after a worker suffered pelvis fractures and broken fingers.

In January 2008, the worker was working on the door of a mining skip, a device used to bring mined material out of a mine, at Jebco's former facility in Innisfil, ON. A chain from a crane was used to keep the door open. However, the eye-bolt that attached the chain to the door broke, causing the door to abruptly close on the worker. An investigation found that the eye-bolt used was not appropriate for the type of lifting used on the skip door.

Jebco Industries Inc. pleaded guilty under the act of failing to provide information, instruction and supervision about the use of an eye-bolt to protect the worker, a violation of section 25(2)(a) of the act.

Temp worker's hand punctured

A temporary production line worker at Estée Lauder Cosmetics Ltd.'s Scarborough, ON facility suffered a puncture wound to the hand. The firm was fined $62,000 for failing to guard a machine with an exposed moving part.

In August 2008, the worker was manually adding lids to containers on a production line, which were being filled with product. The worker noticed that one of the filling nozzles did not have a container under it, and tried to stop the product from coming out. The nozzle moved down and punctured the worker's hand.

Estée Lauder Cosmetics Ltd. pleaded guilty to failing to ensure a machine with an exposed moving part that may endanger a worker's safety was equipped with a guard or other device that prevents access to the moving part, as required by section 24 of the Industrial Establishments regulation (O. Reg. 851).

Saw horse breaks worker's leg

Western Mechanical Electrical Millwright Services Ltd. of Barrie, ON was fined $55,000 for an incident in which a worker suffered a broken leg.

In April 2007, an employee at the company's Barrie facility was repositioning a beam on two sawhorses in order to weld it. As the worker moved the beam, the sawhorses came out from under it. One of the sawhorses hit the worker in the leg, breaking it.

Western Mechanical Electrical Millwright Services Ltd. pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that the beam was moved in a way that would not endanger the safety of the worker, as required by section 45(a) of O. Reg. 851.

Die crushes worker's forearm

Metal forging company IMT Corporation was fined $60,000 for a March 2009 incident in which a die descended on a worker's arm and crushed it.

At the time, the worker was greasing a die machine at the company's Port Colborne, ON facility. When the worker unintentionally stepped on a pedal that activated the machine, the die descended on the worker's forearm.

A Ministry of Labour investigation found that the machine had not been locked out. IMT Corporation pleaded guilty to failing to ensure the machine was locked out before being greased, a violation of section 75 of O. Reg. 851..

Source files: unless otherwise indicated, Ontario Ministry of Labour

Guard door severely injures hand

ODC Manufacturing Limited, a Barrie, ON producer of die-cast parts, pleaded guilty and was fined $55,000 in January for an incident that could have been prevented if a worker had been advised of a machine malfunction.

In June 2007, a die-cast machine stopped. The worker operating the machine put it in manual mode, examined it, then opened a guard door and reached into the machine to reposition one of its components. The machine closed on the worker's hand, causing severe hand injuries.

When functioning properly, this type of machine stops moving if the guard door is opened. At the time of the incident, the company knew that the machine was malfunctioning. Two and a half months before the incident, a supervisor warned the worker that the machine could keep moving with the door open. However, on the day of the incident the worker believed the machine was operating properly because no one had warned about the continuing hazard.

ODC Manufacturing Limited pleaded guilty to failing to inform the worker about the continuing hazard or malfunction of the machine, a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, section 25(2)(d).

Worker's hand partially amputated

Atlas Concrete Accessories Ltd. and a director recently pleaded guilty to a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act that led to the partial amputation of a worker's hand.

In July 2008, a worker at the company's metal stamping shop in Toronto, ON was greasing the gears of a machine while it was in motion. The amputation occurred when the worker's hand became caught in the gears.

A Ministry of Labour investigation found that a guard preventing access to the gears had been removed two weeks earlier, at the director's request, because the machine was overheating.

The firm and the director each pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that the machine was adequately guarded, a violation of section 25 of the Industrial Establishments Regulation (O. Reg. 851). Fines: $60,000 and $5,000, respectively.

MOL inspector discovers asbestos

Richmond North Property Corp. pleaded guilty and was fined $37,500 in December 2009 for asbestos violations under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

During the summer of 2007, the company was renovating a building it owned in London, ON. In August 2007, the Ministry of Labour found asbestos at the project. An investigation revealed the company had failed to notify workers. The firm pleaded guilty to failing to

• advise workers of asbestos-containing material
• provide workers with the location of asbestos-containing material
• advise workers whether asbestos-containing material was friable or non-friable

This is contrary to section 5(2) of O. Reg. 278, Designated Substance — Asbestos on Construction Projects and in Buildings and Repair Operations.

Arc flash burns maintenance worker

Ontario Power Generation Inc. recently pleaded guilty and was fined $100,000 following an incident in which an arc flash burned a worker's hand, arm and chest.

In January 2008, two maintenance workers at the company's Atikokan, ON operating station were called to examine malfunctioning equipment. The equipment was locked in a chamber to protect workers from its electrically energized, moving apparatus. A lockout system required equipment to be electrically de-energized, grounded and locked out before the chamber could open. However, an equipment operator used a bypass key to circumvent the lockout system and open a hatch door while the equipment was still energized. One of the workers triggered an arc flash when he shone a flashlight into the open door, and received burns.

Ontario Power Generation Inc. pleaded guilty to failing to prevent ready access to a means of circumventing the lockout system, a violation of section 25(2)(h) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

Source files: unless otherwise indicated, Ontario Ministry of Labour

Faulty electrical cord stuns worker

Hendrickson Canada Ltd. in Stratford, ON was fined $65,000 in December 2009 following an incident in which a worker fell unconscious from an electrical shock.

Workers at the plant, which manufactures springs used in heavy trucks, had been using a welding machine to remove a steel partition attached to the floor. The machine was powered by a chain of three extension cords. When the machine malfunctioned, a worker shut it down. The injured worker received the electrical shock while trying to disconnect one of the cords. The cord was later found to be faulty.

Hendrickson Canada Ltd. pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that the electrical cord was maintained in good condition, as required by section 25(1)(b) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

Isocyanates used without controls

Stratford, ON employer Smith Steel & Fabrication Inc. pleaded guilty and was fined $28,000 in December 2009, for a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act after failing to comply with an order involving designated substances. A director of the company was fined $8,000.

In September 2007, a Ministry of Labour inspector visited the company's workplace in Atwood. The inspector noticed that isocyanates — a designated substance under the act — were being used without completion of an assessment, and without proper controls. The inspector issued a stop use order. Two months later, the inspector issued another stop use order. In May 2008, the inspector learned the company had used isocyanates in violation of the stop use orders.

Smith Steel & Fabrication Inc. pleaded guilty to failing to comply with the orders of an inspector, a violation of section 66(1)(b). The director pleaded guilty to failing to take all reasonable care to ensure that the corporation complied with the orders, a violation of section 32(b). Fines: $28,000 and $8,000, respectively.

Worker trips, injuring face

QBD Cooling Systems Inc. pleaded guilty and was fined $50,000 in December 2009 following an incident in which a worker fell while carrying an evaporator coil assembly that blocked his view. The worker misjudged a step over a floor-mounted conveyor and tripped, sustaining facial injuries after falling on the coil assembly.

The firm, a Brampton, ON commercial refrigerator manufacturer, pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that the evaporator coil assembly was lifted, carried or moved in a way that would not endanger the worker. The failure is a violation of section 45(a) of the Industrial Establishments Regulation (O. Reg. 851).

Rotating shaft injures worker's arm

Georgia-Pacific Canada, Consumer Products, ULC, a manufacturer of paper, building and consumer products, pleaded guilty and was fined $75,000 in December 2009 for a violation of machine guarding requirements.

In March 2008, the arm of a worker at the company's Toronto facility was pulled into a machine and injured. The worker, who had been trying to clear a jam in a "bagger machine," had opened the guard around the machine to clear paper cups that had fallen. When the machine's rotating shaft caught the worker's sleeve, the worker's arm was pulled into the machine and injured.

The worker had not been told to ensure the rotating shaft had stopped before reaching inside. A Ministry of Labour investigation found that leaving the machine running while clearing fallen cups was standard procedure.

Georgia-Pacific Canada, Consumer Products, ULC pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that the machine had maintenance work performed on it only when motion that may endanger a worker had stopped, a violation of O. Reg. 851, section 75(a).

Source files: unless otherwise indicated, Ontario Ministry of Labour