Worker entangled in machinery
Belden Canada, a Cobourg, Ont. company that produces and sells connectivity and networking products to a variety of markets, including industrial and broadcasting, has been fined $70,000. The court also imposed a 25-per-cent victim fine surcharge as required by the Provincial Offences Act.
On Feb. 15, 2018, a worker was working on a machine used to process wire. The wire arrives wound around a spool and is then fed from the spool into the machine.
Almost immediately upon starting the machine the worker became entangled in several loops of the wire.
The machine had doors and a locking mechanism but no key or tool is required to open this lock; therefore it is not considered to be a fixed guard.
The worker called for help and was helped by co-workers until paramedics arrived.
Section 26 of Regulation 851/90 (the Industrial Establishments Regulation) states that a machine shall be guarded so that the material being processed will not endanger the safety of a worker. Section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act states that the employer must ensure the regulations are followed.
Consequently, Belden Canada violated section 25(1)(c) of the act and pleaded guilty to failing as an employer to ensure that the measures and procedures prescribed by the the Industrial Establishments Regulation were carried out in the workplace.
Source: Ontario Ministry of Labour
