Worker critically injured while cleaning a block machine
Ontario employer Brampton Brick Limited has been fined $65,000 after one of its workers was critically injured in the workplace.
Following a guilty plea in the Provincial Offences Court in Brockville, the employer was also ordered to pay 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.
The incident occurred on April 21, 2023, when a worker was cleaning a mould that was being used on a block machine to make retaining wall products.
The worker chose to clean the mould while it was still inside the machine, rather than removing it, as the same mould would be used during the next shift.
To clean hardened debris from the mold, the worker opened the machine’s guard that prevented access to the block machine’s moving parts. The worker, however, did not lock out the machine or turn off the power.
To fully access the back of the mould, the worker asked a coworker for assistance in raising the head of the machine.
To lift the head, the coworker needed to move the two bottom toggle switches on the machine’s control panel simultaneously. The coworker mistakenly moved the switches in the wrong direction, critically injuring the worker.
A Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development investigation found that although the brick manufacturer had procedures, training and signage to the contrary, it was standard practice at the workplace not to lock out the block machine when cleaning the molds to save time.
As a result, “Brampton Brick Limited failed to provide information, instruction and supervision to a worker with respect to safely cleaning the mold of the block machine, contrary to sections 25(2)(a) and 66(1) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act,” said the Ontario government.
Section 25(2)(a) states: Without limiting the strict duty imposed by subsection (1), an employer shall, provide information, instruction and supervision to a worker to protect the health or safety of the worker.
Meanwhile, section 66(1) states: Subject to subsections (2) and (2.1), every person who contravenes or fails to comply with a provision of this Act or the regulations is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable to a fine of not more than $500,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than twelve months, or to both.
Brampton Brick was also recently fined $225,000 after a separate incident involving a fatality at a different location.
