Worker injured by unguarded pinch point on a conveyor
Ontario employer Cerelia Bakery North America General Partner Ltd, – as general partner, carrying on business under the firm name, Cerelia Bakery Canada – was fined $85,000 following an injury to a worker.
Following a guilty plea in the Provincial Offences Court in Newmarket, the employer was also tasked 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 happened on Oct. 6, 2022, when a worker – employed by a temporary help agency – was working on the cookie-producing line at one of three oven conveyors in operation at the facility.
That day, the worker had been standing for a prolonged period of time. To rest, the worker sat on a guardrail parallel to the conveyor.
The worker rested one foot on a step platform outside the guardrail. They moved their other leg through a 16-inch space between the guardrail and the conveyor to rest their foot on the lower frame of the conveyor.
While in this position, the worker lost balance and was injured by a pinch point on the conveyor.
A Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development inspection found that there was no adequate guarding to prevent access to the pinch point from above.
“Cerelia Bakery failed, as an employer, to ensure that any part of a machine that may endanger the safety of a worker shall be equipped with and guarded by a guard or other device that prevents access to the pinch point, as required by section 25 of Ontario Regulation 851/90, contrary to section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act,” according to the Ontario government.
