Excerpt from the government of Ontario’s ‘Newsroom’
A worker received critical injuries while moving steel beams onto a flatbed trailer at Steelcon Fabrication Inc., 62 Progress Court, Brampton, a business of manufacturing and supplying structural steel beams and columns.
A worker at the plant was tasked with loading steel beams onto a flat-bed trailer. After loading two piles of beams onto the trailer using an overhead crane, the worker was told to place the beams in a more secure and neater manner. This meant that the worker had to reconfigure the beams and insert wooden blocks between each beam to prevent movement during transport.
The worker’s supervisor did not monitor how the worker did this nor give any specific instructions about to perform this task safely.
When the worker tried to put a chain around the first pile of beams in order to move it to insert a wooden block, the pile of beams shifted position, tipped over and fell on top of the worker. The worker sustained critical injuries and was taken to hospital for treatment.
Investigation by the Ministry of Labour revealed that the beams had not been properly secured onto the trailer to prevent them from tipping and that the worker had not been trained on how to safely secure steel beams to prevent them from tipping.
On July 11, 2016, Steelcon Fabrication Inc. was fined $70,000 in Brampton court, by Justice of the Peace Richard Quon; Crown Counsel Jai Dhar.
The court also 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:
Steelcon Fabrication Inc. was found guilty of a contravention of the Ontario ‘Industrial’ regulation 851/90, section 45, subsection (b) which states,
“Material, articles or things,
(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(ii) can be removed or withdrawn without endangering the safety of any worker.”
Since this was a contravention of the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), section 25, subsection 1(c) which states,
“An employer shall ensure that,
(c) the measures and procedures prescribed are carried out in the workplace.”
This was not the first go around for Steelcon when dealing with the Ministry of Labour (MOL). On January 5, 2011, Steelcon was convicted and fined $32,500 for failing as an employer to ensure that material was moved in a manner that did not endanger a worker contrary to section 25(1)(c) of the OHSA and section 45(a) of Ontario Regulation 213/91 (the Construction Projects Regulation). The charges related to an incident in which a worker suffered permanent injuries.
I do wonder if they have hired a health and safety expert to direct their culture to one of safety. It does make one think, doesn’t it?
HRS Group Inc. has a great team that can help you with all your health and safety needs. Contact Deborah toll free at 1-877-907-7744 or locally at 705-749-1259 We can also be reached at
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’, ‘Material handling Safety awareness’ 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.