Canadian Occupational Safety

7 2019 FEBRUARY/MARCH POOR RADIO COMMUNICATION RESULTS IN $120,000 FINE Welded Tube of Canada has been fined $120,000, plus a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge, by the Ontario Ministry of Labour. On May 5, 2017, a worker was injured after a 1-ton steel pipe came into contact with them. The injury was a result of the poor quality of the two-way radios being used. On the day of the incident, a worker was working as a furnace assistant at the company's facility in Welland, Ont. One task was to ensure the metal pipes coming out of the furnace moved along two transfer tables to the second part of the finishing process. During the shift, a metal pipe became stuck on one of the transfer tables. Accordingly, the machine was shut down by the furnace operator and the furnace assistant went between the two transfer tables to adjust the sensor. After completing this task, the furnace assistant used a two-way radio and asked the furnace operator if the issue had been resolved. The furnace operator misunderstood the message and re-started the machine while the furnace assistant was still between the two transfer tables. This caused the transfer table to move up and begin the process of transferring the steel pipe onto the second table. Due to the furnace assistant's position, the steel pipe, weighing approximately 1 ton, was transferred onto the furnace worker's body and resulted in a critical injury. Emergency services personnel were called to the workplace to remove the steel pipe from the injured worker and transfer them to hospital. The Ministry of Labour's investigation found that there were issues with the clarity and the quality of the two-way radios being used and some of the employees did not know how to properly use the radio communication system. Under section 25(2)(h) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, an employer must take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of a worker at a workplace. By failing to have a safe and effective communication system for the protection of its workers, Welded Tube did not comply with its obligation under the act. COMPANY DIRECTOR FINED FOR WORKER DEATH Robert Markle of Bolton, Ont., the director of JTF Davco, was fined $22,000, plus a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge, after a worker was killed when they were caught in a screw-fabricating machine. On Feb. 15, 2017, the worker sat down on a wooden crate near an exposed stock reel. The wooden crate was not a designated seating area. The worker's back was to the bundle. As the stock reel rotated, the exposed bolt heads of one of the collars grabbed the worker's shirt collar and pulled the shirt into the rotation of the stock reel, which fatally injured the worker. The cause of death was determined to be neck compression. The exposed stock reel and locking collars were not protected by a guard or other device to prevent access to the moving parts, which violated section 24 of the Industrial Establishments Regulation (Ontario Regulation 851). Markle committed the offence of failing as a director of JTF Davco to ensure that the corporation complied with Ontario Regulation 851, contrary to section 32(a) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. Markle is registered as the sole director of JTF Davco and occupies all of its officer positions. EXCAVATOR OPERATOR FATALLY INJURES CO-WORKER Mark Dumont, an excavator operator with Bluebird Contracting Services in Calgary, has been fined $75,000 by the Alberta Ministry of Labour. Dumont was working with a colleague preparing a concrete manhole cylinder for installation. While operating an excavator, Dumont struck his co-worker. The worker was pinned between the counterweight of the excavator and the manhole cylinder and was fatally injured. Dumont pleaded guilty to section 2(2)(a) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, as a worker engaged in an occupation, for failing to protect the health and safety of another worker. He was ordered, under the Occupational Health and Safety Act section 75, to pay $75,000 to fund an Alberta Construction Safety Association program to promote safe work with powered mobile equipment. He was also placed on one year of probation-like conditions. All other charges were withdrawn against Dumont and Bluebird Contracting Services. FLASH FIRE COSTS FIRM $62K FMC Technologies Canada has been fined $62,060 by WorkSafeBC for an incident in Dawson Creek, B.C. This firm was contracted to provide testing services during flowback operations for two new wells at a gas well site. Workers were transferring gas and condensate to an open-top buffer tank. While checking a generator unit near the buffer tank, one of the firm's workers turned the generator's engine off but the engine continued to run. A flash fire erupted and the worker sustained serious injuries. WorkSafeBC's investigation determined that poor separation resulted in gas and condensate being moved to the buffer tank. The fire erupted when an ignition source at the generator contacted the hydrocarbon cloud from the buffer tank. The firm failed to ensure that machinery was certified and capable of performing safely. It also failed to provide adequate personal gas monitors. Additionally, FMC Technologies Canada failed to adequately analyze risks and implement safe work procedures for work activities involving the release of gas, a repeated violation, and failed to conduct air sampling to assess the risk of worker exposure. These were all high-risk violations. Furthermore, the firm failed to provide its workers with the information, instruction, training and supervision necessary to ensure their health and safety. WORKER KILLED ON 3RD DAY OF JOB McNabb Construction has been fined $300,000, inclusive of the 15 per cent victim fine surcharge, by the Government of Alberta. On May 1, 2015, in Forestburg, Alta., a worker was positioned under a gravel crushing cone liner that was suspended by an overhead crane when an attachment point gave away, fatally crushing the worker. This was the worker's third day with this employer. McNabb Construction pleaded guilty to section 13(1) of the OHS Regulations, failure to ensure that work would be done by a competent worker or a worker working under the direct supervision of a competent worker. All other charges were withdrawn. REGINA COMPANY FINED $100K A Regina company pleaded guilty to one count under Saskatchewan's Occupational Health and Safety regulations on Nov. 27. Associated Mining Construction was fined $71,429 plus a surcharge of $28,571. Two other charges were withdrawn. The company pleaded guilty to contravening clause 134(1)(b) of the regulations (being an employer, fail to ensure that workers are informed of any risk associated with and trained in the safe use of a machine, resulting in the serious injury to a worker). The charge resulted from an incident that took place near Esterhazy, Sask. on July 28, 2016. A worker sustained serious head injuries after a structure tipped over, striking the worker in the head. FINES & PENALTIES

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