Manufacturer fined $55,000 after worker injured

Amhil Enterprises Ltd., an Ontario manufacturer of plastic products, was fined $55,000 for a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act after a worker was injured.

 On June 29, 2010, at the company’s Mississauga facility, a supervisor and two workers were clearing a jam in a machine. The machine was not locked out to prevent it from reenergizing. When the supervisor left to get assistance, one of the workers put a hand into an opening in the machine and part of the worker’s hand was severed.

The company had a general lock out policy, but it did not have a written policy for the lock out and tag of out this particular machine.

Amhil Enterprises Ltd. pleaded guilty to failing to take the reasonable precaution of having a written policy for the lock out and tag out of the machine.

Justice of the Peace Michael Barnes imposed the fine. 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.