Company failed to provide information, instruction and supervision to a worker in relation to safely locking out a driveshaft on a press machine
The Ontario government fined Commercial printing company Imprimeries Transcontinental 2005 S.E.N.C. $65,000 for violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
The company pleaded guilty to contravening section 25(2)(a) of the act by failing to provide information, instruction and supervision to a worker in relation to safety locking out a driveshaft on a press machine for the incident that took place Aug. 28, 2018.
That led to a worker suffering critical injuries from a moving chain on the draft shaft.
The printing press involved in the incident uses a drive mechanism to move flyers along a conveyor belt as part of the printing process. While operating the press, one worker noticed that the flyers were not coming out properly. That worker tried to troubleshoot the problem by turning off the power to the driveshaft and removing a fixed guard that was situated over the area where the chain met the drive shaft.
The worker did not 'lock-out' the machine, a process where the controls for powering the drive shaft are locked and all energy is dispersed to prevent any inadvertent starting of the drive shaft.
That worker determined that maintenance personnel were required to address the problem with the driveshaft. The guard was still off the machine and, while the power to the driveshaft was off, the controls were not locked out. Before leaving the press area, the worker advised the other workers not to touch the press and to wait for maintenance to come and fix the problem.
However, another worker came to the area and decided to troubleshoot the problem by trying to clean the chain, then turned on the power to the drive shaft. The driveshaft did not start so the worker proceeded to clean the chain further, but did not turn off the power before doing so. The drive shaft started suddenly and the worker was injured.
The then-Ministry of Labour investigated the incident and determined that the injured worker had not been trained on the hazards associated with not safely locking out the press machine. Further, workers were not provided with locks to ensure controls are locked out. Only maintenance personnel were provided with locks.
The investigation further found that press workers did, as a common aspect of their work, troubleshoot problems with the printing presses without locking out the controls. It was left to their discretion whether to attempt to troubleshoot or call maintenance.
“Had the drive shaft been locked out by the first worker or anyone else, with the power dispersed and the controls locked to prevent starting, the injured worker would not have been able to start the drive shaft,” said the Ontario government.
Recently, Orin Contractors Corp. was fined $125,000 after pleading guilty to violating the Occupational Health and Safety Act which led to the death of one employee. Also, Western Forest Products Inc was fined $73,266.29 following the death of a worker during a forestry operation at Quatse Lake, B.C.
