Worker's hands were caught between brake press used to bend a metal sheet
Spacefile International Corp., an Ontario-based employer, has been fined $70,000 after one of its workers sustained critical injuries in a workplace incident.
Following a guilty plea in the Provincial Offences Court in Toronto, the employer was also ordered to pay a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge, as mandated by the Provincial Offences Act. This surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund established to assist victims of crime.
The incident occurred on March 1, 2023, when a worker was operating a brake press to bend a sheet of metal.
The worker was using foot controls when the worker's hands were caught between the upper and lower die of the press.
The worker was critically injured in the process.
According to the Ontario government, the machine had no point-of-operation guarding or protective measures in place to prevent access to its pinch point.
The point of operation refers to the area of the machine where useful work is performed. Typically this point is where an operator has contact with the machine.
“Spacefile International Corp. failed, as an employer, to ensure that the machine was equipped with and guarded by a guard or other device that prevents access to its moving part, as required by section 24 of Ontario Regulation 851/90, contrary to section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OSHA),” said the provincial government.
Section 24 of the regulation states: “Where a machine or prime mover or transmission equipment has an exposed moving part that may endanger the safety of any worker, the machine or prime mover or transmission equipment shall be equipped with and guarded by a guard or other device that prevents access to the moving part.”
Meanwhile, section 25(1)(c) of the OSHA states: An employer shall ensure that the measures and procedures prescribed are carried out in the workplace.
“Because there are many different types of machines and processes, a risk assessment should be conducted for each machine or situation, and in some cases, before each use,” said the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS). “It may be necessary to involve individuals with specialized or technical expertise.”
