Worker topples off conveyor belt

A worker standing on a conveyor belt to grease head pulleys sustained serious injuries after the belt suddenly started moving and propelled him off the top end.

An investigation found that, while the worker was standing on the belt to grease head pulleys, another worker energized the conveyor in an attempt to move its wheels into their final position.

The incident occurred at a gravel pit operated by Kincardine, Ontario-based Bannerman Contracting Limited. The company pleaded guilty to failing to ensure all energy-isolating devices were properly engaged, locked and tagged out before the worker had begun greasing the head pulleys. Fine: $50,000.

Safety harness appears on worker after 3-storey fall

A partner of Seeley’s Bay, Ontario roofing contractor Peaks & Valleys Contracting was sentenced to 30 days in jail for an incident in which a young worker fell off a roof after only 10 minutes on the job. The worker fell three storeys into a refuse bin and bruised his shin.

A Ministry of Labour investigation found the worker had not been wearing a fall harness when on the roof. However, as the worker lay injured in the bin the business partner put a fall harness on him and told him to tell investigators he had been wearing it while on the roof. The worker did as instructed.

The partner pleaded guilty, as an employer, to failing to ensure fall protection was used by the worker, as required by section 26.1(2) of the Regulations for Construction Projects.

In a separate matter, the company that had hired Peaks & Valleys Contracting was found guilty, as a constructor, of failing to

• ensure the worker was adequately protected by fall protection, as required by Section 26.1(2) of the Regulations for Construction Projects, and
• failing to ensure the worker was adequately trained in the use of fall protection, as required by Section 26.2 of the Regulations for Construction Projects.

K.B. Home Insulation Ltd. was fined $43,000: $25,000 on the first count and $18,000 on the second.

Compactor unguarded, company fined

A disabled safety mechanism on a compactor at a Toronto, Ontario grocery store led to a $47,000 fine against A&P Canada Co.

The safety mechanism prevents the machine from compacting while an access door is open. Disabling the mechanism allowed workers into the compactor while in operation, posing a risk of hand or arm injuries. A Ministry of Labour inspector noticed the modification while inspecting the compactor.

A & P Canada Co. pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that the compactor was equipped with and guarded by a device preventing access to an exposed moving part, as required by section 24 of the Regulations for Industrial Establishments.

Unsecured loads cause serious injuries

In separate incidents, loads land on workers’ legs. Employers’ fines: $70,000 and $50,000.

In one incident, at FKI Industries Canada Limited plant in Welland, Ontario, a 726-kilogram load on a lift truck fell to the ground and against a worker. The company makes metal parts for the auto industry. The injured worker, a press operator, was helping to set up a press when the load, a component of the press, fell off a lift truck. Several workers were needed to lift the component from the operator's leg, which sustained crushing injuries and fractures.

FKI Industries Canada Limited pleaded guilty to failing to ensure the press components were moved in a way that didn’t endanger a worker, as required by section 45(a) of the Regulations for Industrial Establishments. Fine: $70,000.

In another incident, at Concord, Ontario marble and granite processor Solid Stone Inc., six marble slabs each weighing 181 kilograms fell against a worker who had been holding them against a rack/material handling device. At the time, a second worker was using a crane to lift the device. The slabs were being moved to gain access to other materials.

A Ministry of Labour investigation found the marble slabs had not been secured to the rack/material handling device. Solid Stone Inc. pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that the way in which the marble was moved did not endanger a worker's safety, as required by section 45(a) of the Regulations for Industrial Establishments. Fine: $50,000.

No fall arrest equipment leads to fatal plunge

A worker standing on a ladder at a mine in Kirkland Lake, Ontario lost his balance, first falling 20 metres to a landing below, and then through an open service gate to the next landing a further 60 metres below.

At the time, a work crew was preparing to move equipment in an Alimak raise, a sloped passageway used to move large equipment or people between mine levels. The worker who fell was standing on a ladder to help raise a metal landing grate so that equipment could pass by. He died at the scene.

A Ministry of Labour investigation found that the worker was not wearing any fall arrest equipment, and that there were no written procedures for opening the landing grate doors or for safe travel in the raise when the doors were open.

Source files: Ontario Ministry of Labour

Pre-Inspection Could Have Prevented Demolition Death

One person died, and 17 others were injured in Toronto’s 2003 Uptown Theatre collapse. Contractor Priestly Demolition Inc. is fined $200,000.

Cutting a key part of a roof truss led directly to the fatal collapse of the theatre’s main auditorium, which triggered a series of events according to a Ministry of Labour investigation. Furthermore, investigators wrote, the importance of the truss would have been apparent days before if Priestly Demolition Inc. had ensured that a competent person had inspected the internal roof structure. The operator of the high-reach mechanical shears used to cut the truss was unfamiliar with the internal roof’s structure.

Falling debris from the collapse killed one student in a neighbouring building, and injured 12 other students. Five bank employees in another building were also injured. A demolition worker walking in a laneway next to the theatre escaped injury.

The ministry investigation also found that Priestly Demolition Inc. had failed to

• reference hazards or include options for safely dismantling the theatre's internal roof structure in a job safety analysis done prior to commencing work on the project
• review or examine the internal roof structure prior to starting the structural demolition, and have the engineer of record attend the project either before or after the project's start.

The company pleaded guilty to failing to take the reasonable precaution of ensuring a competent person inspected the theatre's internal roof structure prior to removing the main western roof truss. This was contrary to section 25(2)(h) of the act.

Worker Dies While Escaping From Out-of-Control Elevator

One worker leapt to safety while another fell 13 metres. Employer fine: $300,000.

The two workers tried jumping to safety on the second-floor landing of a commercial building when the stripped freight elevator they were using began to rise independently. The two men were working for Scarborough, Ontario-based Schindler Elevator Corporation on a contract with the building’s owner to dismantle and remove old elevator equipment, and install new elevators. The incident occurred in London, Ontario.

An investigation found that Schindler had neither written instructions or procedures for dismantling elevators, nor provided the workers or their supervisor with adequate information, instruction and supervision to ensure the work was done safely. In particular, the workers had no instructions on how to ensure their elevator remained in balance with proper counterweights. Imbalanced counterweights caused the elevator rope and sheave to break traction when activated, so that the elevator rose on its own until it hit the top of the seventh floor shaft.

The company pleaded guilty to failing to provide information, instruction and supervision on how to safely dismantle the elevator, including when and how to adjust counterweights, contrary to section 25(2)(a) of the act.

7 die after road crew damages gas line

A $225,000 fine against Warren Bitulithic Limited is the highest in the history of the Technical Standards and Safety Authority.

In April 2003 the road crew for the construction company, contracted by the City of Toronto, damaged a gas line. An explosion and subsequent fire killed seven people and injured others. The blast and fire also destroyed a two-storey commercial and residential building, and damaged surrounding properties.

Warren Bitulithic Limited was charged with two counts under the Technical Standards and Safety Act, 2000 for

• digging without determining the location of underground natural gas pipelines that may be interfered with, and
• damaging an underground natural gas pipeline without authority as prescribed under the act and regulation.

The company pleaded guilty to the latter charge.

Charges were also laid against Enbridge Gas Distribution Inc. and Precision Utility Ltd. for failing to provide as accurate information as possible regarding the location of underground natural gas pipelines. As of press time, the charges had not been resolved.

Palletizer Forks Crush Worker

A worker triggered his own death after improperly locking out the machine. Employer fine: $75,000.

An employee of Forwell Materials Inc. who inadvertently triggered a palletizer’s light beam was crushed to death when the palletizer’s forks suddenly rose. The worker had been reloading material that had fallen from a pallet already on the machine.

A Ministry of Labour investigation found the palletizer had not been locked out. The company had provided training on lockout to the worker at least three times before the incident, and had disciplined him in the past for failing to lock out the machine.

Based in Cambridge, Ontario, Forwell Materials Inc. processes and supplies construction materials such as cement and gravel. The company pleaded guilty to failing to ensure lockout procedures for the palletizer were followed, as required by section 76 of the Regulations for Industrial Establishments.

Partial lock-out, partial amputation

A worker lost a finger and part of his hand when the injection-moulding machine he was working on suddenly cycled. Employer fine: $60,000.

The employee of Baffin Inc., in Stoney Creek, Ontario, was installing a component of an injection-moulding machine when a control switch was suddenly activated, causing a mould to rise up and crush the worker's right hand. The main part of the machine had been locked out, but a switch allowing the mould to move up and down hadn’t.

Baffin Inc., which makes footwear such as snow boots and work boots, pleaded guilty to failing to ensure a control switch on the injection-moulding machine was locked out and other effective precautions were taken to prevent any starting that could endanger a worker's safety, as required by section 76 of the Regulations for Industrial Establishments.

Worker + Wet Floor + Live Electrical Cord = Fatality

Elmira Poultry Inc., a Waterloo, Ont.-based manufacturer that mainly produces processed poultry products, was fined $100,000 for a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act that resulted in the electrocution of an employee.

The worker was moving a machine that converts raw meat into specific product shapes such as nuggets or burgers when a live, 600-volt, overhead electrical cord got caught in the machine. At the time of the incident, the worker was wearing wet leather workboots and was likely standing on a wet floor near a drain.

Elmira Poultry Inc. pleaded guilty to failing to ensure the machine was moved in such a way, and with such precautions to ensure its moving did not endanger the worker's safety, as required by section 45(a) of the Regulations for Industrial Establishments.

Source files: Ontario Ministry of Labour

Pallet truck handle pins driver’s leg

An inappropriate procedure cost a worker a fractured leg, and Abitibi-Consolidated Company of Canada $75,000.

When a worker’s pallet truck stalled on a ramp at the company’s Kenora, Ontario paper mill, another worker tried to push it up the ramp with a forklift. However, the pallet truck driver lost control and the truck’s operating handle swung around and pinned his leg against the vehicle’s battery case. The pressure fractured the worker’s leg.

The company was fined $75,000 for failing to provide information, instruction and supervision to a worker, as required by section 25(2)(a) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

Fatal fall linked to inconsistent procedures

A worker fell 12 to 15 metres to his death at Placer Dome (CLA) Limited’s Musselwhite Mine because of inconsistent application of procedures, concluded a Ministry of Labour investigation. The worker fell into an open hole while he and a colleague were conducting underground gas checks after a rock blast.

Following a trial, Placer Dome (CLA) Limited was found guilty of

• failing to take the reasonable precaution of developing standard safe procedures for post-blast clearance gas checks, and/or
• failing to ensure standard safe procedures for post-blast clearance gas checks were followed, contrary to section 25(2)(h) of the act.

The company was fined $350,000.

Unexpected machine cycle fractures worker’s skull

A worker at Toronto-Ontario based Humberline Packaging Inc. suffered a fractured skull and brain injuries when a machine he was peering into suddenly cycled. The worker was trying to view a fuel leak when he was struck.

The company pleaded guilty to failing to ensure the machine was cleaned, oiled, adjusted, repaired and/or had maintenance work performed on it only when motion that could endanger a worker was stopped, as required by section 75 of the Regulations for Industrial Establishments. The company was fined $100,000.

Cap blows, striking worker in the face

A welder suffered serious head and face injuries when pressurized nitrogen gas blew off the cap from a metal coupling on the end of a water pipe.

The welder, employed by Modern Niagara Toronto Inc., was helping to install new water lines to enhance existing heating/cooling systems when the cap blew. Based in Weston, Ontario the firm, installs plumbing, heating, ventilation and air condition systems in commercial buildings.

The cap blew off after a project supervisor closed a balancing valve, which stops or redirects the flow of liquid through the system.

The company was first acquitted of any charges. However, the Crown appealed and Modern Niagara Toronto Inc. was subsequently found guilty of failing to ensure pressure in the pipe of the supplementary cooling system was released, as required by section 48(1)(a) of the Regulations for Construction Projects. Employer fine: $135,000.

Source files: Ontario Ministry of Labour

Unguarded pinch point lacerates worker’s hand

The incident occurred at an automotive parts plant in Georgetown, Ontario. While trying to fix a problem on a "post-form rolling mill"—part of a production line—a worker’s hand became caught between two metal rollers. The rollers crushed the fingers, and a sharp contour on one roller caused lacerations.

The employer pleaded guilty to failing to ensure the post-form rolling mill was equipped with, or guarded by, a guard or other device to prevent access to the in-running nip hazard, as required by section 25 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act’s Regulations for Industrial Establishments. Fine: $60,000.

Worker struck by forklift truck

A worker at a Thunder Bay paper mill who was reviewing his work assignment for the day had a change in plans after he was struck by a lift truck. The worker suffered minor bruising and soreness from being thrown to the ground.

The employer pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that barriers, warning signs or other safeguards for the protection of all workers in the area were used where vehicle or pedestrian traffic could endanger a worker's safety, contrary to section 20 of the Regulations for Industrial Establishments. Fine: $50,000.

Source files: Ontario Ministry of Labour

Replacement worker loses hand

A worker assigned by a company owner to replace him on a punch press had his hand amputated after the press crushed it.

On the day of the incident, the press was being operated by the owner of Mississauga-based Quality Machining & Metalworks Inc., which makes steel products. So that he could attend to other duties, the owner assigned another worker to the press.

While operating the machine, the worker put his hand in a position that allowed the machine to crush it. The machine had no guarding device preventing access to the point where the machine’s upper die/ram came in contact with a stationary lower die.

The company pleaded guilty and was fined $60,000 for failing to ensure the press was equipped with and guarded by a device, as required by section 25 of the Regulations for Industrial Establishments. The president pleaded guilty as a supervisor to a similar charge, and was fined $3,500.

Spinning saw blade bites into worker’s hand

A shut-off saw blade that was still spinning left a deep cut in the hand of a worker vacuuming sawdust in the blade area. The incident occurred at Corpap Inc.’s Oakville plant. The Markham-based company makes paper products.

Corpap Inc. pleaded guilty to failing to ensure motion that could endanger a worker was stopped when the saw was being cleaned, as required by section 75 of the Regulations for Industrial Establishments. The court assigned a $50,000 fine.

Past practice is not equal to best practice

Sliding sheets of metal pinned a worker’s foot after he had removed three of four metal straps keeping the sheets bundled. The resulting injuries kept the worker off the job for almost five months.

As part of an ongoing practice at Flex-N-Gate Canada Company in Windsor, the worker had cut three of four metal straps on a bundle of 170 large metal sheets on the floor. While he walked away to discard debris, a second worker loaded the bundle, held together with just one remaining strap, onto the forks of a forklift and began lifting the load. The sheets slid off the forks towards the first worker, who was standing about 4.9 metres away, and pinned his foot against a bin.

Following a trial, Flex-N-Gate Canada Company was found guilty of failing to

• ensure the sheets were moved in a way that did not endanger the worker's safety, as required by section 45(a) of the Regulations for Industrial Establishments. Fine: $25,000.
• provide information, instruction and supervision to the worker to protect his health and safety, contrary to section 25(2)(a) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. Fine: $25,000.

Untrained worker fractures arm, cuts elbow

A worker helping to dismantle a spring-loaded overhead garage door fractured his arm and lacerated his elbow when the spring began to unwind and struck him. The injuries occurred at a Sudbury wheel manufacturing plant operated by Sault Ste. Marie-based North Shore Steel Products Limited.

The company pleaded guilty to

• failing to provide information, instruction and supervision to workers on how to safely dismantle the overhead garage door, contrary to section 25(2)(a) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. Fine: $35,000.
• interfering with, disturbing, destroying, altering or carrying away any wreckage, article or thing at the scene or connected with the occurrence without the Ministry of Labour's permission, contrary to section 51(2) and section 66(1)(a) of the act. Fine: $15,000.

As well, a company supervisor pleaded guilty to failing to provide written instructions to workers on how to safely dismantle the overhead garage door prior to directing the work, contrary to section 27(2)(c) of the act. Fine: $7,500.

1 fall, 4 charges, $195,000 fines

A Quebec construction firm and Manitoba roofing company were fined in Ontario after a worker fell through a hole in the roof of a Brockville, Ontario building site.

The worker, an employee of Flynn Canada Ltd., was putting screws into insulation material on a roof when he stepped backwards through a hole and fell almost six metres. The worker landed on a pallet of steel studs and a piece of hardwood on the concrete floor below, suffering a shattered hip, bruised arm and a cut to the forehead.

The day before, two workers for Danya Proforma Inc., the construction firm, had cut the 71-by-91-centimetre hole. They then placed a wooden pallet over the hole without securely fastening or identifying it as a covering. The next day, Flynn Canada Ltd.'s supervisor was off site.

Following a trial, Danya Proforma Inc. was found guilty for failing

• as a constructor and an employer to ensure the hole in the roof was covered by a securely-fastened protective covering, as required by section 26.3(2) of the Regulations for Construction Projects. Fine: $75,000 and $20,000, respectively.
• as a constructor to protect the safety of the injured worker by ensuring he did not fall through the hole, contrary to section 23(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. Fine: $20,000.

Flynn Canada Ltd. pleaded guilty to failing to

• ensure that either a guardrail system or a protective covering was used to prevent the worker from falling through the hole in the roof.
• inform workers that the hole had been cut in the roof, or that a wooden pallet had been placed over the hole, contrary to section 25(2)(h) of the act. Fine: $70,000.

Source files: Ontario Ministry of Labour

Chemical burns from confined space

The predicament of a worker who collapsed in a confined space led to the collapse of a second worker who went to his colleague’s aid. Both are employees of Aurora, Ontario-based Prokleen Washing Services (Oakville) Inc., which specializes in cleaning tanker trucks. The incident began with the two workers cleaning the outside of a tank. One went inside and began using a chemical cleaner without putting on any protective equipment, such as a respiratory device, coveralls, gloves, safety glasses, hardhat, harness or lifeline. All were available.

The worker became disoriented from chemical fumes and collapsed, knocking over a pail of cleaning solution. When yells from the worker still outside failed to awaken the inside worker, the outside worker called out "man down" and entered the tank. While trying to get his downed colleague into a harness for extrication, he too fell unconscious.

Other workers managed to remove one worker, who suffered chemical burns to his face, right arm and buttock, abdomen and chest. Firefighters extricated the other worker, who received chemical burns to the legs, buttocks and back.

Prokleen Washing Services (Oakville) Inc. pleaded guilty to failing to provide information, instruction and supervision on

• cleaning a confined space with a chemical stripper, and
• removing from a confined space a worker who required assistance.

Worker dies in “giant food processor”

A nightshift worker who entered a rebond ribbon mixer, described as a giant food processor, died after a co-worker started up the machine. The co-worker didn’t know anyone was inside. The fatality occurred at Toronto, Ontario-based Vitafoam Products Canada Limited, which makes foam products for use in vehicles and furniture.

The mixer features a bin and auger-like blades that mix shredded foam with a binding chemical. The worker who died had shut off the machine by turning a master key on the operating panel, and then entered the bin to replace a pipe that supplied the binding chemical.

A Ministry of Labour investigation found that the mixer had not been locked out. Nor was there any notification that someone was in the mixer, or devices or mechanisms to automatically disconnect the power when someone was inside it. Furthermore, there was no supervisor on duty. At the time the company was in the process of installing a device that would have ensured the mixer could not be turned on while someone was inside, whether or not it had been locked out.

Vitafoam Products Canada Limited pleaded guilty to failing to take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances, including the following:

• locking out the mixer controls before entry
• disconnecting all mixer power sources before entry
• ensuring that the control was turned off with the key and that the key was taken by the worker entering the mixer
• locking out computer controls before the worker entered the mixer
• providing clear notice to all workers whenever someone was inside the mixer
• providing adequate training on the need to lock out and disconnect power, on how to effectively lock out the controls and disconnect power, and on the need to provide clear notification of the presence of someone in the mixer
• providing adequate training on the need to inspect the mixer before starting it
• providing clear procedures setting out effective ways of achieving the foregoing
• taking adequate steps to ensure these procedures were followed
• providing additional and/or better supervision of all workers operating and entering the mixers, and/or
• providing night shift supervision.

Forklift runs over worker

Removing plastic covers from the top of an arena’s ice hockey end boards led to foot, ankle and lower leg fractures when one worker was struck and run over by a co-worker operating a forklift. Just before the incident occurred, a third worker had called for assistance from the forklift driver. The driver reversed and turned the vehicle without seeing or warning his co-worker. Neither worker had received training on changing positions. Normally a signaller or a process for changing positions is required.

Capital Sports Properties Inc., a company that operates Scotiabank Place in Ottawa, pleaded guilty to failing to ensure workers receive adequate information, instruction and supervision when removing partitions at the arena, contrary to section 25(2)(a) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

Garbage truck’s compactor injures worker

An electrician adjusting a hydraulic pressure switch for a ram in a garbage truck storage bin suffered a crushed pelvis and damaged nerves in one leg after the ram started closing in. The injuries occurred after a co-worker at a control panel in the truck's cab activated the manual reverse direction switch to move the ram. The electrician couldn’t exit the compactor in time. The two employees work for Hamilton, Ontario-based Universal Handling Equipment Company Limited, which makes garbage truck bodies for the waste disposal industry.

An investigation found that the relatively new design of the truck placed the electrician in a hazardous position while making final adjustments to the hydraulic pressure switch. Adjustment valves on older models were located outside of the truck body, and did not require that adjustments be made from inside. The investigation also found that the worker in the cab failed to activate an emergency stop button.

Universal Handling Equipment Company Limited pleaded guilty to failing to ensure control switches or other control mechanisms were locked out on the compactor, as required by section 76 of the Regulations for Industrial Establishments.

Rotating shaft snags worker

A machine operator whose clothing became entangled in a rotating shaft escaped with three cracked ribs, lacerations to one arm, and bruising and cuts to a leg. The escape occurred only after co-workers shut off the machine’s main power and slashed the entangled shirt with a razor knife.

The worker, an employee of Burlington, Ontario-based Summo Steel Corporation, had been making a routine adjustment to the machine when the exposed shaft snagged his shirt. The shirt became increasingly entangled before workers arrived to rescue him.

Summo Steel Corporation pleaded guilty to failing to ensure a machine part was adjusted only when motion that may endanger a worker had stopped. This was contrary to section 75(a) of the Regulations for Industrial Establishments.

Light curtain guards not enough

A worker at steel mat maker Fisher & Ludlow, in Burlington, Ontario, suffered two crushed fingers after circumventing a welding machine’s light curtain guards.

The worker was stationed on a production line that welded together and cropped steel rods to make matting when the welding side of the line stopped. As the worker reached into a welding machine to pull out a rod, he noticed a spark and the machine began to cycle. The worker's right hand became trapped, resulting in the crushing injuries.

Fisher & Ludlow pleaded guilty to failing to lock out a machine, as required by section 76 of the Regulations for Industrial Establishments.

Source files: Ontario Ministry of Labour

Fallen worker permanently disabled

A worker who wasn’t wearing fall protection is now wheelchair bound after plunging three metres onto a concrete floor. Employed by Lear Corporation Canada Ltd. at its Windsor, Ontario plant, the worker had been removing part of an elevated conveyor when he fell. The incident left the worker with fractures to his back and skull, a broken nose and various lacerations.

Lear Corporation Canada Ltd. pleaded guilty to failing to ensure the worker was adequately protected from falling, as required by section 26.1 of the Regulations for Construction Projects. The company received a $125,000 fine.

Unguarded pinch point snags worker’s arm

A worker’s arm was pulled all the way up to his shoulder into a machine at a Norampac Inc. facility in Mississauga, Ontario before the machine automatically shut down. The worker had been trying to clear a paper jam in the machine, which produces linerboard for cardboard boxes. The worker suffered multiple injuries, second degree burns to the upper left arm and upper left thigh, a punctured lung, fractured bones, and bruising.

The incident occurred after another worker, at a control panel, had activated the machine in "jog" mode while the first worker started to manually feed the paper. This was the company’s standard procedure for clearing paper jams. However, the other worker did not have a clean view of his colleague. This, and a high noise level, made it hard to know when to start the machine.

Norampac Inc. pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that

• the machine was equipped with an automated start-up warning device, as required by section 33 of the Regulations for Industrial Establishments, and
• an in-running nip hazard on the machine was equipped with, and guarded by, a guard or other device that prevented access to the pinch point, as required by section 25 of the Regulations.

The company was fined $140,000.

No guard, no finger

A young worker operating a power saw lost part of a finger when his hand came in contact with the saw’s blade. He also received cuts to three other fingers.

The worker, an employee of A. Potvin Construction Ltd. in Clarence-Rockland, Ontario, had been using the saw to cut treated wood. The injuries occurred when he reached around the blade to grab wood coming out behind the saw. A Ministry of Labour investigation found that the saw did not have a required guard.

A. Potvin Construction Ltd. pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that the measures and procedures prescribed by section 24 of the Regulations for Industrial Establishments were carried out, contrary to section 25(1)(c) of the Act. The company was fined $50,000.

Company and director fined following audit

Syri-Con Corporation, a Woodstock, Ontario-based manufacturer of building products for commercial farm operations, was fined $55,000 for four violations of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. A director was also fined $10,000 for two violations.

The violations were discovered during a Ministry of Labour regulatory audit. Among the violations:

• no workplace joint health and safety committee
• no guarding devices to prevent access to pinch points in sprockets and chains on two sides of a drive motor
• obstructions, hazards and accumulations of refuse at 11 locations with worker access
• non-compliance with a ministry work order requiring that at least one safety committee employer representative and one worker representative be certified as health and safety members.

Syri-Con Corporation pleaded guilty to failing to

• establish and maintain a safety committee at the Princeton plant, as required by section 9(4) of the Act
• ensure that measures and procedures required by sections 11 and 25 of the Regulations for Industrial Establishments were carried out, and
• comply with a Ministry of Labour order, contrary to section 66(1)(b) of the Act.

In addition, a company director pleaded guilty to failing to take all reasonable care to ensure that

• a safety committee was established and maintained, and
• Syri-Con Corporation complied with a Ministry of Labour order, contrary to section 32 of the Act.

Untrained lift truck driver breaks bone

A truck driver operating a lift truck to unload pallets of goods inadvertently went off a loading dock at the distribution centre of Ottawa-based grocery store chain Loeb Canada Inc. While trying to manoeuvre the lifting device, the driver somehow reversed the unit off the dock. The driver landed on the ground and suffered a broken ankle bone and scrapes to one forearm. An employee of Thomson National Personnel, the driver had never received any formal training on how to operate the vehicle.

Loeb Canada Inc. pleaded guilty to failing to ensure the lift truck was operated only by a competent person or by a worker accompanied and being instructed by a competent person, as required by section 52(1)(a) of the Regulations for Industrial Establishments. The company was fined $75,000.

Robot fractures worker’s skull

A worker repairing a robotic machine at PECO Inc., an auto parts manufacturer in Rexdale, Ontario, suffered a fractured skull when the machine’s arm suddenly activated. The machine hadn’t been locked out, nor had the worker been trained on proper lockout procedures.

Following a trial, PECO Inc. was found guilty of failing to

• lock out the robotic machine to prevent it from starting, as required by section 76 of the Regulations for Industrial Establishments, and
• provide the injured worker with information, instruction and supervision on lockout procedures, contrary to section 25(2)(a) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

The company was fined $75,000 on each count.

Source files: Ontario Ministry of Labour