Ontario company ordered to pay $110,000 for fatal incident in February 2023
Ontario employer Millwick Waste Recycling Inc. has been fined $110,000 following a workplace fatality.
After a guilty plea in the Ontario Court of Justice in Toronto, the company was also ordered to pay a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge, as required by the Provincial Offences Act. This surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund that assists victims of crime.
The incident occurred on February 15, 2023, when a worker was fatally injured by a front-end loader.
An investigation by the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development determined that the loader’s operator did not have a full view of the intended path of travel due to the elevated position of the loader’s bucket.
“Millwick Waste Recycling Inc. failed, as an employer, to ensure that the loader was operated under the direction of a trained signaller in full view of the operator, as required by section 56 of Ontario Regulation 851/90, contrary to section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act,” the Ontario government stated.
Section 56 of Ontario Regulation 851/90 provides: Where the operator of a vehicle, mobile equipment, crane, or similar material handling equipment does not have a full view of the intended path of travel or its load, the equipment shall only be operated under the direction of a signaller who is a competent person and who is stationed:
(a) in full view of the operator;
(b) with a full view of the intended path of travel and its load; and
(c) clear of the intended path of travel and its load.
Safety tips around front-end load use
The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) advises that operators of front-end loaders should:
- Ensure everyone is well back from the equipment when operating the loader.
- Add recommended wheel ballast or counterweights according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
- Adjust wheels to the widest recommended setting.
- Travel with the load as close to the ground as conditions allow. (If the rear of the tractor lifts, the bucket will hit the ground before the tractor tips.)
- Operate controls only from the operator’s seat.
- Watch for overhead powerlines, ground depressions, obstructions, and uneven terrain.
- Operate and turn the tractor at low speeds; avoid jerky movements.
- If necessary, reverse down hills with a load—do not drive forwards downhill with a loaded bucket.
- Drive in a straight line when loading the bucket, and keep the load balanced.
- Lower the loader to the ground, stop the engine, and lock the brakes before leaving the operator’s platform.
- Travel in a straight line when raising the bucket to unload.
- Approach the dump site as closely as possible before raising the bucket.
