Worker injured while operating machinery not equipped with a guard or other device to prevent access to a pinch point
Ontario railcar manufacturer National Steel Car Limited has been fined $90,000 after one of its workers sustained a critical injury in the workplace.
Following a guilty plea in Provincial Offences Court, Hamilton, the employer was also required to pay a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge as mandated by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.
The incident occurred on Oct. 6, 2022, on a production line at the Bulkheads First Position, where workers weld C-shaped metal pieces onto flat sheets to create railcar bulkheads.
“The C-shaped pieces were held in place by hydraulic clamps on restraining fixtures. When released, the clamps retracted under the machine frame, creating an unguarded pinch point,” according to the Ontario government.
On the day of the incident, a worker was helping reposition a metal piece. During this process, the clamp was activated and retracted, causing a critical injury.
The Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development’s investigation found that “no guard, control or safety procedure” was in place to prevent access to the pinch point—a direct violation of section 25 of Ontario Regulation 851/90 (Regulation for Industrial Establishments), contrary to section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
National Steel Car—which employed approximately 1,750 workers at the time of the offence— manufactures railroad freight and tank cars.
Machine safety
According to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS), each piece of powered equipment should be assessed using the following process, which employers can share with their workers:
- Understand how the machine is designed.
- Understand how to use the machine safely.
- Identify all tasks performed by and associated with the machine:
- What hazards may occur from the use and misuse of the machine?
- What moving parts and corresponding safeguards are currently in place?
- Identify who will be using the machine, and how often the machine will be used.
- Determine what materials are used with the machine (e.g., sheet metal, wood, metalworking fluid, oil, etc.).
- Estimate the risk of each hazard by considering:
- The severity of possible injuries and/or incidents, and
- The probability or likelihood of occurrence.
- Eliminate the hazard(s) where possible.
- Use protective measures to control the risk of each hazard including considering:
- The design,
- Safeguarding and protective devices,
- Administrative controls, or
- Other measures.
9. Re-assess to estimate the new risk level.
10. Repeat the process if the risk level has not been eliminated or effectively controlled.
