AGF-Rebar and one of its supervisors have been fined a total of $97,000 for separate incidents that resulted in injuries to two workers.

The first incident occurred on December 7, 2018, and led to a fine of $30,000 for the London-based rebar manufacturer. A worker at its manufacturing facility was injured when he was struck by a falling load of rebar.

The worker was using an overhead crane to load rebar bundles onto a flatbed trailer. He performed the task while standing on the floor, using a pendant device to control the crane.

The rebar bundles being loaded varied in size. Some included long rebar that exceeded the length of the trailer's 26-foot flatbed portion. Because of this, some of the bundles rested at an incline on the trailer.

The worker was operating the remote device to place a fourth bundle of bent steel rebar on the trailer. While moving this bundle into place, two bundles fell off the trailer towards the worker.

The worker attempted to jump out of the way but was unable to clear the falling load completely. He was struck on the hands by the longer rebar pieces, and was taken to hospital for treatment.

A justice of the peace ruled that AGF-Rebar had failed to ensure material was placed or stored so it would not tip, collapse or fall.

The second incident occurred on January 11, 2019, when a worker suffered critical injuries after being pulled into a rotary bender while processing rebar.

A rotary bender is used to bend straight pieces of rebar at various angles. Because of its length, rebar is manually fed between rollers. Although multiple workers are needed to handle the rebar, this machine is operated by a single worker with the use of foot-activated controls.

The machine was equipped with a leveling pad about six inches long on which material would rest immediately before being fed or drawn between the rollers. The original leveling pad had been worn down, so a 13-inch scrap piece of metal which rested on the worn pad was being regularly used with this machine. This scrap piece of metal was not secured in place.

At the time of the incident, the worker was feeding a rebar into the machine by hand and was adjusting a levelling plate located in front of the rollers on the bender table because it had started to shift. This plate was not fastened to the table and was moving.

It was during this process that the worker was pulled by the rebar into a pinch point. The area was not equipped with a guard.

Inspectors from the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development had visited the AGF-Rebar facility twice during the summer of 2018, and issued 18 orders requiring equipment to be equipped with guarding or requiring the existing guarding to be properly maintained.

AGF complied with all orders for the machines located inside its establishment but did not provide or install guards for the bender machine being used in the yard.

The company and its supervisor pled guilty to failing to ensure the machine was equipped with a guard or a device to prevent access to an exposed moving part that could endanger a worker.

The company was fined $65,000 for the violation; the supervisor was fined $2,000.