Worker was alone during the incident
A Manitoba construction services company has been ordered to pay a total of $70,000 after a subcontracted worker was killed in a machinery incident at an asphalt plant in 2022, according to a report.
Winnipeg-based Wintec Building Services was assessed a $50,000 fine and required to contribute a further $20,000 toward initiatives “for educating the public on occupational safety and health,” as outlined in a provincial news release cited by CBC.
The fatal incident occurred in July 2022 at an asphalt facility located at 645 Mission Street in Winnipeg. The worker, a man employed by J D Mobile Wash, was performing pressure washing and cleaning duties at the site under subcontract to Wintec when he suffered fatal injuries.
He “died after falling into the blades” of an unguarded generator radiator fan, according to the account reported by CBC, which referenced information released by provincial authorities.
Worker’s employment and role
The deceased man was an employee of J D Mobile Wash, a company that provides pressure washing and cleaning services and had been subcontracted by Wintec for work at the Mission Street asphalt plant.
At the time of the incident, Wintec said the worker had been working alone when he died, CBC reported, highlighting circumstances that are the focus of ongoing scrutiny by workplace safety officials.
Wintec Building Services operates across Manitoba, providing excavation and base preparation, asphalt paving and supply, property and roadway maintenance, aggregate supply and snow removal services. Its work involves multiple job sites and a range of heavy equipment and machinery, including at asphalt production locations such as the Mission Street plant.
Regulatory investigation and guilty plea
Following the worker’s death, Manitoba Workplace Safety and Health officials launched an investigation and subsequently laid charges under the province’s Workplace Safety and Health Act.
Wintec pleaded guilty on Jan. 27 to a charge that it failed to ensure that, when machine or tool safeguards are removed or made ineffective, alternative protective measures are in place until the safeguard is restored. The plea relates specifically to the absence of adequate protection while the generator radiator fan was unguarded.
