Bolton general contractor fined $50K for OHSA violation
Bolton’s Rafat General Contracting Inc. has been fined $50,000 for its role in a 2017 incident that led to a worker’s injuries.
Following a trial, the company, which performs excavation and demolition work, was found to have failed to adequately brace a structure so that it could not fail or collapse.
The incident occurred on March 2, 2017 at a building at 720–728 Yonge Street in Toronto that was being renovated.
Rafat General Contractor was hired to perform work to demolish and dismantle parts of the interior from the third floor down to the basement, and to clean up and remove all debris.
As work was being done in the basement, a horizontal steel beam was in place on what was the ceiling of the basement floor supporting part of the floor of the first floor.
The supervisor of the company noticed the west end of the steel beam was resting on a steel plate on top of the steel column, but was not connected. The east end of the beam, however, was connected by bolts to another steel column.
The supervisor used the bucket of a mini excavator belonging to the company to push the west end of the steel beam and to move it off the steel plate, and then lowered the west end of the beam to the concrete floor below.
The east end of the horizontal beam remained connected to its vertical steel column, which remained in an upright position.
Shortly thereafter, the steel assembly collapsed, striking a worker and pinning the worker under the collapsed structure.
The worker sustained serious injuries.