Excerpt from the government of Ontario’s ‘Newsroom’
A worker, employed by General Coach Canada of Hensall, Ontario, a company that manufactures and assembles park model and house trailers, was critically injured while cutting a piece of melamine with a table saw. By not ensuring the saw was equipped with a guard, General Coach Canada failed to ensure that the measures and procedures as prescribed by section 24 of Ontario Regulation 851/90 were carried out at the workplace, contrary to section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
On April 20, 2023, a worker was cutting a piece of melamine using a table saw. The protective shield that goes over the saw blade, and prevents inadvertent blade contact, was missing. The worker was critically injured by the saw blade.
Following the incident, the employer installed the protective shield on the saw as well as a riving knife.
Following a guilty plea in the Provincial Offences Court in Goderich, General Coach Canada was fined $60,000 by Justice of the Peace Karl McNamara; Crown Counsel was Katie Krafchick.
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:
General Coach Canada was found guilty of a contravention of the Ontario ‘Industrial Establishments’ sector regulation 851/90, section 24 which states,
“Where a machine or prime mover or transmission equipment has an exposed moving part that may endanger the safety of any worker, the machine or prime mover or transmission equipment shall be equipped with and guarded by a guard or other device that prevents access to the moving part.”
The number one industrial hazard, one that the Ministry LITSD has been dealing with, for many years, has been ‘Machine Guarding’. The reader will recognize sections 24 and 25 are becoming quite common.
My opinion is that the flaw is in the design of industrial equipment. PERIOD!
HRS Group Inc. has a great team that can help you with all your health and safety needs including ‘Machine Guarding’. Contact Deborah toll free at 1-877-907-7744 or locally at 705-749-1259.
Ensure your workplace is a safe place.
Remember – In Ontario, “ALL Accidents are Preventable”
‘Work’ and ‘Play’ safe.
Daniel L. Beal
CHSEP – Advanced Level
CEO & Senior Trainer
HRS Group Inc.