Excerpt from the government of Ontario’s ‘Newsroom’
Mondelez Canada Inc., a maker of biscuits and confectionery, pleaded guilty and was fined $60,000 after a worker was injured while cleaning an overhead conveyor on a cookie production line.
On January 20, 2014, at the company’s manufacturing operation at 5 Bermondsey Road in Toronto, workers from a contracted company called New Way Building Services Inc. were on site to clean the machines on a cookie production line.
A worker from New Way was cleaning an overhead conveyor on the production line when the worker’s arm was drawn into a roller on the conveyor system. This resulted in injuries to the worker.
The company pleaded guilty and was fined $60,000 by Justice of the Peace Mohammed Brihmi in Toronto court on December 4, 2015.
In addition to the fine, the court imposed a 25-per-cent victim fine surcharge as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.
My opinion
The law(s) in contravention:
Mondelez Canada Inc., was found guilty of a contravention of the Ontario ‘Industrial’ regulation 851/90, section 75, subsection (a) which states,
“A part of a machine, transmission machinery, device or thing shall be cleaned, oiled, adjusted, repaired or have maintenance work performed on it only when,
(a) motion that may endanger a worker has stopped.”
Mondelez Canada Inc. was also found guilty of a contravention of the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), section 25, subsection 1(c) which states,
“An employer shall ensure that,
(b) the measures and procedures prescribed are carried out in the workplace.”
Where was the supervisor in all this? Where were the written work procedures? Was a hazard assessment completed prior to any work was done, and if so, was the worker notified of the assessment? These are all keys points that should have been researched and completed before the operation was to start. I wonder if New Way Building Services were aware that assessments were not done AND I would wager that Mondelez Canada Inc. was under the impression that they were not responsible for the contractors. WRONG!
There were many others I could have added here but the $60,000 fine seems to be sufficient for this offence.
Ensure your workplace is a safe place.
Remember – In Ontario, “ALL Accidents are Preventable”
HRS Group Inc. has a great team that can help you with all your health and safety needs including ‘Due Diligence’, ‘Machine Guarding’ and ‘Standard Operating Procedures’. Contact Deborah toll free at 1-877-907-7744 or locally at 705-749-1259.
‘Work’ and ‘Play’ safe.
Daniel L. Beal
CHSEP – Advanced Level
VP & Senior Trainer
HRS Group Inc.