Excerpt from the government of Ontario’s ‘Newsroom’
An employer has been fined $50,000 after a worker broke an arm while trying to repair a fabric roll-up door on the job site.
On June 27, 2010, a worker at Faurecia Automotive Seating Canada Ltd. of Mississauga was trying to repair a roll-up door that had come off its track. The worker was using a ladder and another employee was assisting by opening and closing the door at a control panel. The worker’s arm became entangled in the door as it was rolling up. The worker was able to extricate the entangled arm by manually disengaging the drive mechanism to the door; however, the arm was broken.
The incident took place at the Faurecia workplace located at 100 Reagens Industrial Parkway in Bradford.
The defendant pleaded guilty in a Barrie court to failing as an employer to ensure that the measures and procedures prescribed by section 76 of Regulation 851 under the Occupational Health and Safety Act were carried out, and was fined $50,000.
The fine was imposed by Justice of the Peace Michael Frederiksen. 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:
Faurecia was found guilty of a contravention of section 76 of the Ontario ‘Industrial’ regulation 851/90 which states,
“Where the starting of a machine, transmission machinery, device or thing may endanger the safety of a worker,
(a) Control switches or other control mechanisms shall be locked out; and
(b) Other effective precautions necessary to prevent any starting shall be taken.”
Faurecia was also found guilty of violating section 25, subsection 1 (c) of the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) which states,
“An employer shall ensure that,
(c) The measures and procedures prescribed are carried out in the workplace.”
A proper set of ‘safe work procedures’ would have identified the hazards and placed controls to prevent injury. We hear this type of story almost every day and one wonders why employers do not see the benefit of a set of proper safe instructions.
Please ensure that all hazards have been identified, assessed and controlled. That my friends, is the law! Faurecia has found out the hard way.
I would also request that sections 25 and 26 of the OHSA be reviewed on a regular basis and I also hope that someone in your facility has received safety training from an accredited association.
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’, ‘Lockout and Tagout’ 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
VP & Senior Trainer
HRS Group Inc.
Excellent website!