Excerpt from the government of Ontario’s ‘Newsroom’
New Water Plumbing Inc., of Thornhill, was fined $100,000 for a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act after a worker was killed.
On December 23, 2009, two workers from New Water Plumbing Inc. were in the mechanical room of a Toronto condo tower. They had taken a large exhaust fan out of its housing. As the workers were moving the fan, a light fixture they had swung out of the way swung back and hit the fan. Part of the light fixture was damaged, allowing its electrical charge to contact the fan. The worker who was holding the fan at the time was fatally electrocuted.
New Water Plumbing Inc. pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that the fan was lifted, carried or moved in a way that would not endanger a worker.
The fine was imposed by Justice of the Peace Mary Anne Ross Hendriks. 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:
New Water Plumbing Inc. was found guilty of violating section 45 of the Ontario ‘Industrial’ regulation 851 which states,
“Material, articles or things,
(a) Required to be lifted, carried or moved, shall be lifted, carried or moved in such a way and with such precautions and safeguards, including protective clothing, guards or other precautions as will ensure that the lifting, carrying or moving of the material, articles or things does not endanger the safety of any worker;
(b) 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(ii) Can be removed or withdrawn without endangering the safety of any worker; and
(c) To be removed from a storage area, pile or rack, shall be removed in a manner that will not endanger the safety of any worker.”
How was New Water Plumbing Inc. was to know that this type of issue could happen? The section of the ACT that deals with employer’s responsibilities was to do everything reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of the worker. This type of accident was a fluke but still had to be addressed by the MOL.
My sign-off states the position of the Ontario government that “ALL accidents are preventable”. Even though New Water Plumbing was following a set of SOPs, the possibility of this accident happening was so remote that preventative action would never have been thought of. Mind you, the possible lockout and tagout of the two lines may have been suggested.
I know that hindsight is 20-20 but every accident is a learning experience and corrective action needed to ensure that it never happens again. Even with that in mind, this article was one of the hardest for me to talk about because this is one accident that was very, very difficult to predict.
Remember – In Ontario, “ALL Accidents are Preventable”
HRS Group Inc. has a great team that can help you with all your health and safety need including ‘Material Handling’, ‘Due Diligence’ and ‘Proper Lifting Techniques’. Contact Deborah toll free at 1-877-907-7744 or locally at 705-749-1259.
We can also be reached at info@hrsgroup.com
‘Work’ and ‘Play’ safe.
Daniel L. Beal
CHSEP – Foundation Level
VP & Senior Trainer
HRS Group Inc.
I wanted to thank you.
You inspire me!
This has my attention.
I knew this to be good.
I really like this site.
You are the best!
This is good stuff!
I want to see more from you.
Awesome!
I wanted this all along.
Yes, this is good.
I think we have a winner here.
Good job!
You are amazing!
Well done!
Keep up the good work.
Thank you.
Wonderful!
Wonderful!
Wonderfully written.
You have the gift.
Very well done!
I think you may have something.
Excellent!
You have a gift!!!
Good for you.
Wow!!!
I wanted to thank you for all the great information you are providing.
Can’t be undone!
Awesome!
Wow, that was fairly fascinating.
Awesome!
I think this site is amazing!
You are one of the best!
Thank you.
Where do you keep coming up with all this?
Wonderful.
Nicely done!
Thank you.
I wanted to thank you for all the great information you are providing.
I will be back again.
You are the best!
Excellent!
I needed this.
I wanted to thank you for all the great information you are providing.
Wow!
YOu are really good at this.
I will come back soon.
I wanted this!
It is like you read my mind.
Wonderful material!
You have my attention.
This is good stuff.
This is a fantastic inspiring article.
I have previously been examinating absent some of your tales and it’s quite exceptional things. I will definitely bookmark your weblog.
I wanted to thank you for all the great information you are providing.
I wanted to thank you for all the great information you are providing.
Wonderful!
Well I sincerely liked studying it. This subject offered by you is very helpful for proper planning.
I want to read more from you.
Good for you!
I wanted to thank you for all the great information you are providing.
I wanted this all along!
Cannot wait to read more.
Good for you!
You have my attention!
Many thanks!
You are the best!
Good for you!
Wonderful!
One of your best!
Keep the faith!
Good for you!
Excellent!
I really like coming here.
I wanted to thank you for all the great information you are providing.
I wanted to thank you for all the great information you are providing.
Many thanks!
Quality work!!!
Many thanks!!!
Its like you read my mind! You appear to know a lot about this.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts about safety issues!
I was curious if you ever thought of changing the layout of your website?
You really make it seem so easy.
These are really fantastic ideas in your blogging.
I would like to thank you.
This article presents a pleasant understanding of health and safety.
Hurrah, that’s what I was searching for, what material!
I think we have a winner here!
There are a finite number of designs that you can go through, and upon finding all the patterns, you will make serious money.
I like what you guys are up to.
You are the best!
I thank you!
WOW, just ԝhat Ι was searching fоr.
I wanted to thank you for all the great information you are providing.
After looking into a handful of the blog posts on your web site, I really appreciate your way of blogging.
I saved it to my bookmark site list and will be checking back soon. Please visit my web site as well and let me know how you feel.
Wow! In the end I got a webpage from where I be able to genuinely get valuable data regarding my study in health and safety.
When someone searches for information he/she should come here soon!
Especially, it is really a useful piece of information!
Hi! I know this is sort of off-topic but I had to ask. Does running a well-established website like yours take a massive amount work?
Yes!!!
Daniel L. Beal – CHSEP
Hello, I enjoy reading all of your article.
I wanted to write a little comment to support you.
Spot on with this posting!
I’ve learn a lot of stuff here.
Certainly worth bookmarking for revisiting.
I’m truly enjoying the design and layout of your blog.
Тhiѕ design іs incredible! You definitely know how to keep a reader amused.
These are really enormous ideas in regarding blogging.
I want to to thank you for this wonderful read!!
Everyone loves it when folks come together and share ideas.
Great blog, stick with it!
Hey! Would you mind if I share your blog with my twitter group?
There’s a lot of folks that I think would really enjoy your content.
Please let me know. Thanks
I’ve been surfing online for more than 2 hours today, yet I
never found any interesting articles like yours.
Thank you!
I wanted to thank you for all the great information you are providing!
You are the best!
I wanted to thank you for all the great information you are providing!
Very nice post. I absolutely appreciate this site.
Keep it up!
Thanks!
If some one wants to be updated about health and safety then they need to come here.
I want to thank you for this good read!!
I think this has some of the most important info for me. And
I’m glad I’m reading your article, but wanna remark on some general things. The site style is great, the articles is really nice. Good job, cheers!
You are the best!
Good for you!
We absolutely love your blog!
Howdy! Do you know if they make any plugins to assist with SEO?
Hi there, just wanted to say, I loved this article.
I certainly like your web site.
Hi! I know this is kinda off topic but I’d figured I’d ask. Would you be interested in exchanging links or maybe guest authoring a blog post or vice-versa?
One of our guests just lately recommended the following website.
More of the same!
We came across this really cool web page.
Thanks a bunch for sharing your website.
Many thanks!
Very good post. I’m experiencing sⲟme of theѕe issues as welⅼ.
You’ve been searching for good quality stories for a while now.
Please keep me posted!
Great posting!
Hello, I log on to your blogs daily.
Hey I am so glad I found your blog.
It’s remarkable.
World class!
Can I simply just say what a relief to uncover an individual who truly knows what they’re talking about on the internet.
I pay a visit each day to this site!
Hi there, its good post on the topic of media print, we all know media is a fantastic source of data.
Hi. I have checked your hrsgroup.com and I see you’ve got some duplicate content.
This design is wicked! You most certainly know how to keep a reader entertained.
Too cool!
These are really great ideas.
Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for sharing your info.
Very energetic blog, I enjoyed that a lot.
I love coming here.
Wonderful posting!
I am regular visitor here.
Hi there! I know this is kinda off topic but I was wondering which blog platform are you using for this website?
Hi there! I’m at work browsing your blog from my new apple I-phone!
I wish to read even more things about it!
Excellent post.
Thank you and best of luck.
You’ve done an impressive task.
You are the best!
I wanted to thank you for all the great information you are providing!
Thanks so much for the blog article.
It’s truly a great and useful piece of info.
Thank you for sharing.
Thanks!
Thanks!
Awesome blog post.
Really looking forward to read more. Will read on…
You are the best!
I wanted to thank you for all the great information you are providing!
Hi there. I discovered your blog by means of Google.
Excellent!
Excellent!
You are the best!
I wonder what comes next?
Great article!
World class!
I wanted to thank you for all the great information you are providing!
You are the best!
You are the best!
I wanted to thank you for all the great information you are providing!
I wanted to thank you for all the great information you are providing!
Thanks, once again!
Good stories!
You are so good!
You are the best!
More of the same!