Worker critically injured while trying to clear a blockage from a machine
Ontario employer National Rubber Technologies Corporation has been fined $55,000 after one of its workers was critically injured in the workplace.
Following a guilty plea in the Provincial Offences Court in Toronto, 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 Jan. 20, 2023, at 35 Cawthra Avenue, Toronto.
That day, a worker was using a SBR granulator machine to break up pieces of rubber into smaller pieces.
When the machine became blocked, the worker—who was working alone—went to the mixer room where the hoppers were located.
After noticing what was causing the blockage, the worker decided to unclog the machine.
Counter to their training, the worker did not lock out the machine, turn off the power from the control panel, nor seek expert help, according to the Ontario government.
Instead, the worker climbed on a ladder and used a knife to clear the blockage. In doing so, they suffered critical injuries.
A Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development investigation determined that at the time of the incident, there was no off switch on the machine itself, requiring the worker to go outside the mixing room to access the control panel.
“Therefore, the employer did not adequately ensure that all motion that could endanger a worker was stopped before cleaning,” said the Ontario government.
“As a result, National Rubber Technologies Corporation failed to ensure that the measures and procedures as prescribed by section 75 of Ontario Regulation 851/90 were carried out at the workplace, contrary to section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.”
Section 75 of the regulation states: 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.
Meanwhile, section 25(1)(c) of the act states: An employer shall ensure that the measures and procedures prescribed are carried out in the workplace.
National Rubber Technologies ceased operations on Dec. 31, 2024. All employees were permanently laid off.
