Company ‘failed to ensure that the exposed moving part generating a shearing hazard on the punch press was equipped with a guard’
An Etobicoke, Ont. textile sampling company has been fined $50,000 after a temporary help agency worker suffered critical injuries while cleaning an unguarded punch press, the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development announced.
Grosnor Industries Inc., located at 375 Rexdale Blvd. in Etobicoke, pleaded guilty in Ontario Provincial Offences Court in Toronto to a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) arising from the July 21, 2023 incident.
According to the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, the worker was changing dies on a punch press when they reached through an unguarded gap to clean debris near the blades. A second worker, who did not see the first worker’s hand in the hazard area, activated the machine, resulting in a critical injury.
The injured worker was employed by a temporary help agency but was working at Grosnor’s Etobicoke facility at the time of the incident.
Legal findings and regulatory breaches
The ministry stated that Grosnor Industries Inc. failed, as an employer, “to ensure that the machine was equipped with a guard or other device to prevent worker access to the exposed moving part, as required by section 24 of Ontario Regulation 851, contrary to section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.”
Section 24 of Ontario Regulation 851 requires that moving parts that may endanger a worker be equipped with a guard or other device to prevent access to the danger zone. The charge laid by the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development alleged that the exposed moving part generated a shearing hazard at the punch press, and that no adequate guard or device was in place to prevent worker contact.
The ministry’s summary emphasizes that the company “failed to ensure that the exposed moving part generating a shearing hazard on the punch press was equipped with a guard or other device to prevent worker access,” again citing the requirements of section 24 of Ontario Regulation 851 and section 25(1)(c) of the OHSA.
Sentence and financial penalties
On Feb. 27, this year, following the company’s guilty plea, Justice of the Peace Pete Karageorgos imposed a $50,000 fine on Grosnor Industries Inc. Crown counsel in the case were Alicia Gordon‑Fagan and student‑at‑law Emily Jin.
In addition to the fine, the court imposed a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge under the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge, as the province notes, “is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.”
The Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development indicated that since the incident, “the company has invested significant resources in upgrading safety guarding throughout the facility.”
Grosnor Industries Inc. produces textile samples for clients in the roofing, flooring, tile and siding industries.
Machines’ moving parts pose a hazard to workers in the workplace, according to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS).
And safeguarding is an essential step to keep workers safe around machinery, according to the government agency.
Safeguarding is the general term used to describe a number of control measures that are used to protect workers from contact with moving parts or other similar unsafe conditions. The devices may:
- Stop a machine if a hand or body part enters a danger area
- Restrain or withdraw (pull back) the hand from the danger area
- Require the operator to keep both hands on a control
- Be a barrier that synchronizes with the machine's cycle, preventing entry to the danger area during the hazardous part of the cycle
“Safeguards include guards, safety devices, shields, barriers, warning signs, safe work procedures, and personal protective equipment (PPE),” according to the CCOHS.
