Blog Post #5 – Lift Truck Safety – Deaths of two workers lead to $850G fine

Excerpt from the Government of Ontario’s ‘Newsroom’

Ford Motor Company of Canada has been fined $850,000 for violations under the Occupational Health and Safety Act after two workers were killed in separate incidents.

On Jan. 31, 2008, a worker was fatally injured at Ford’s Oakville, Ont., assembly plant after being crushed between two forklifts. The worker was standing beside a forklift when a co-worker reversed another forklift into the worker. A Ministry of Labour investigation found that the forklift operator did not keep a clear view of the vehicle’s path of travel while reversing.

On Jan. 14, 2009, a worker driving a lift truck carrying an unsecured pallet was killed at Ford’s Bramalea, Ont., parts distribution centre. While the worker was driving the lift truck down a narrow aisle, the pallet struck a storage rack, crushing the worker between the pallet and the vehicle. A Ministry of Labour investigation found that Ford’s material movement policies and procedures were not adequate. Ford pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to take all reasonable precautions in the circumstances to protect the safety of the workers.

The fine was imposed Tuesday by Justice of the Peace Jerry Woloschuk. In addition to the fine, the court imposed a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge, as required by the Provincial Offences Act.

My opinion

The law(s) in contravention:

Ford Motor Company of Canada was found guilty of violating section 25, subsection 2(h) which states,

“The employer shall take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of the worker.”

Even a large company like Ford Motor Company needs to review the OHSA and any particular regulations when attempting to ensure a safe workplace.

Remember In Ontario, “ALL Accidents are Preventable”

‘Work’ and ‘Play’ safe.

Daniel L. Beal
CHSEP – Foundation Level
VP & Senior Trainer
HRS Group Inc.

418 thoughts on “Blog Post #5 – Lift Truck Safety – Deaths of two workers lead to $850G fine”

  1. I’m truly enjoying the design and layout of your site. It’s a very easy on the eyes which makes it much more enjoyable for me to come here and visit more often. Did you hire out a developer to create your theme? Superb work!

    Reply
  2. Its like you read my mind! You appear to know a lot about this, like you wrote the book in it or something. I think that you can do with a few pics to drive the message home a bit, but instead of that, this is excellent blog. An excellent read. I’ll certainly be back.

    Reply
  3. Nice blog here! Also your site loads up very fast! What web host are you using? Can I get your affiliate link to your host? I wish my website loaded up as fast as yours.

    Reply
  4. I’m not that much of a internet reader to be honest but your sites really nice, keep it up! I’ll go ahead and bookmark your site to come back down the road. All the best.

    Reply
  5. Do you mind if I quote a few of your articles as long as I provide credit and sources back to your webpage? My website is in the exact same area of interest as yours and my users would certainly benefit from some of the information you provide here. Please let me know if this ok with you. Thank you!

    Reply
  6. Howdy! I could have sworn I’ve been to this site before but after checking through some of the post I realized it’s new to me. Anyways, I’m definitely glad I found it and I’ll be bookmarking and checking back often!

    Reply

Leave a Comment