Injured worker was on placement from local college
K-G Spray-Pak, a manufacturer and packager of aerosol products, was fined $75,000 for the injury of a worker who was caught in a conveyor belt. The court also imposed a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge as required by the Provincial Offences Act.
On June 12, 2017, a worker — who was on a work placement through Sheridan College — was assigned to a task on a conveyor at the company’s plant in Mississauga, Ont.
After completing the task, the worker reached under the conveyor to cut off the ends of the tie straps being used to secure hosing.
The worker looked down to retrieve dropped pliers; in doing so, the worker's hair became caught in a rotating return shaft on the underside of the conveyor and the worker suffered injuries. The worker was taken by emergency services to hospital for treatment.
Section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) requires an employer shall ensure the prescribed measures and procedures are complied with.
Section 75 of the Regulation for Industrial Establishments states that "a part of a machine, transmission machinery, device or thing shall be cleaned, oiled, adjusted, repaired or have maintenance work performed on it only when (a) motion that may endanger a worker has stopped; and (b) any part that has been stopped and that may subsequently move and endanger a worker has been blocked to prevent its movement."
K-G Spray-Pak failed to ensure that the measures and procedures prescribed by section 75 were complied with, contrary to section 25(1)(c) of the OHSA.
Source: Ontario Ministry of Labour
