Worker injured from handling machinery still connected to power; company fined $80K

Nov. 24, 2016 – Auto parts manufacturer Linergy Manufacturing, carrying on business as LPP Manufacturing, pleaded guilty and has been fined $80,000 after a worker was injured while handling machinery that was still connected to power.

The incident took place at company’s Guelph, Ont., facility on Oct. 20, 2015. A machine operator was performing maintenance on a machine known as a CNC lathe. The machine was put into manual mode, but was not powered off. The worker was engaged in removing the machine’s chuck by unthreading it and removing it from its spindle. The chuck unexpectedly retracted to the back of the lathe and the worker’s fingers were trapped. A co-worker activated a foot pedal, which caused the chuck to move out from the plate, releasing the worker.

This was the first time the worker had been asked to remove the chuck, and no training had been received by the worker relating to locking out this machine. The worker suffered injuries, some of them permanent, and months later was unable to return to work.

Provincial law requires that where the starting of a machine, device or thing may endanger the safety of a worker, control switches or other control mechanisms shall be locked out and other effective precautions necessary to prevent any starting shall be taken.

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.