WHITBY, ONT. – Trade-Mark Industrial Inc. from Cambridge, Ont., a contractor that offers millwrighting, rigging, electrical, piping, sheet metal and HVAC installation services, has received a fine following an incident at the Gerdau Ameristeel factory in Whitby in May 2023.
An Ontario court bulletin states that Trade-Mark Industrial Inc. was contracted to carry out maintenance work at the site.
Days before the incident occurred, a supervisor told a worker to put in a butterfly valve on a section of horizontal cooling pipe. The pipefitter informed the foreman that the bolts on-site were not suitable for this task. However, the foreman directed the worker to use them temporarily until the correct bolts could be found.
On May 10, 2023-the day of the incident-supervisors instructed another team to switch and adjust two pipe skids attached to the cooling pipe. A chain fall was set up to support one side of the pipe while the other side continued being held only by those incorrect bolts, as noted in the bulletin.
When they lifted the pipe slightly for clearance, the south connection gave way and caused it to drop, injuring one worker.
A Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development investigation found that there was insufficient bracing on the pipe to prevent movement affecting its stability.
This led to Trade-Mark Industrial Inc. not ensuring that measures and procedures outlined by section 31(1)(b) of Ontario Regulation 213/91 (Construction Projects) were followed at their workplace, which is against section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
<p. After pleading guilty in Provincial Offences Court in Whitby on March 3, 2026, Trade-Mark Industrial Inc. was fined $80,000 by Justice of the Peace Louis Bourgon.
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