Ontario Construction News staff writer
WHITBY – A contractor from Cambridge, Ontario, has received an $80,000 fine following a workplace injury that occurred in 2023.
Trade-Mark Industrial Inc. admitted guilt in a Whitby court for breaking Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act. The company must also pay a victim fine surcharge of 25 percent.
The incident took place on May 10, 2023, at an industrial site in Whitby, where the company was handling maintenance tasks.
Court documents indicate that just days before the incident, a supervisor told a worker to install a butterfly valve on part of a horizontal cooling pipe. The pipefitter informed a foreman that the bolts available were not right for the job but was told to use them temporarily until proper ones could be secured.
<p On the day of the accident, another crew was assigned to switch and reposition two pipe skids connected to the cooling pipe. A chain fall was put in place to support one side of the pipe while the other side remained held up by those incorrect bolts.
As they lifted the pipe slightly for clearance, the connection on the south side failed and caused the pipe to drop, injuring one worker.
An investigation by the Ministry of Labour revealed that there wasn’t enough bracing on the pipe to prevent movement that could jeopardize its stability.
Trade-Mark Industrial Inc. was found lacking in ensuring that necessary measures and procedures were followed at their workplace, violating section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act as well as section 31(1)(b) of Ontario Regulation 213/91 (Construction Projects).
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