Excerpt from the OH&S Magazine
An industrial road accident in a remote area north of Sudbury has claimed the lives of two workers.
Bruce Skeoff, spokesperson for the Ontario Ministry of Labour in Toronto, confirms that the incident took place on January 29, 2014 when both men were attempting to remove an empty tractor-trailer that was stuck in a ditch by using a track-mounted log loader.
While the workers were hooking change to the tractor-trailer, a third worker drove the excavator up a small incline and positioned it sideways in front of the other vehicle. “That equipment was on the road in front of the tractor-trailer when it suddenly slid and pinned the two workers,” Skeoff reports.
The statement from the Ontario Provincial Police’s Sudbury detachment identified the victims as 43-year-old Pierre Morin, who had worked for Guy Morin Transport in Chelmsford, Ontario, and 28-year-old Stephane Desaulniers, an employee of Les Entreprises Maxine Gauthier in Lac Saint-Jean, Quebec.
Desaulniers was killed immediately, while Morin succumbed to his injuries shortly after being airlifted to the health sciences North Hospital in Sudbury. The driver of the excavator was not injured.
My opinion
Wow, in this day and age, workers can be killed because someone has not set up a set of written work instructions, initiated a hazard assessment, and did everything reasonable in the circumstance to protect those workers.
All it would’ve taken here is to complete assessments and put the worker at the top of the priority list. A set of written work instructions would not have hurt here either. The work is going to be done anyway let’s do it safely and consider all aspects of it because anything less and that can be found to be criminal in intent.
(Remember the Metron accident Christmas eve day 2009)
By the way, for those that are supervisors reading this report please remember; the supervisor in the metro accident went to jail for 3 ½ years for failing to protect his workers and putting them in harm’s way! Let us hope that this changes the way you do things in your own workplace so that you can avoid heavy fines and possible jail time.
Due diligence is the key!
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’ 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.
This is really good!
Good stories!
Many thanks!