Ont. manufacturer fined $50K after two workers injured on the job

A manufacturer of custom automated machinery in Brantford, Ont. has been fined $50,000 in provincial offences court after two workers were injured onsite.

Following a guilty plea, Lorik Tool & Automation was also fined a 25-per-cent victim fine surcharge credited to a provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.

On June 19, 2018, a worker was moving a large electrical panel, which measured eight feet tall, 16 feet long and 18 inches wide, weighing about 4,000 lbs, intending to load it onto a truck.

The panel was put on two wheeled dollies, one at the front and one at the rear of the panel. However, the feet in the centre of the panel impeded movement, as the dollies were not tall enough to allow the feet to clear the floor.

The worker jacked up the bottom of the panel in an attempt to install wood studs on the dollies to raise the panel higher. While doing so, the panel tipped over and fell on the worker.

As the panel tipped over, it also struck another nearby worker. Both suffered injuries.

An investigation by the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development determined that there was no procedure for the movement of the panel onto the truck. In addition, the panel was not secured against tipping and falling.

This was in contravention of the Regulation for Industrial Establishments, which says that machinery, equipment or material that may tip or fall and endanger any worker must be secured against tipping or falling.