London company fined $55,000 for 2021 site accident
A London-based metal recycling company will pay a fine of $55,000 for its role in an incident that led to injuries to a worker in 2021.
London Salvage and Trading Company Limited pled guilty in a London court on November 28 to violations of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA). The company will also pay a 25 percent surcharge.
On November 26, 2021, three workers were dismantling a bulldozer in the yard of the company’s facility on Egerton Street.
Two workers were using cutting torches, while the third operated a mobile crane moving pieces to be cut or which had been cut.
One worker was cutting a large piece of the bulldozer that included a spring tension assembly. The assembly contained a hollow bore in which a spring was inserted. The spring was approximately 45 inches long and eight inches in diameter.
A cover with a shaft protruding from its centre was mechanically fastened to the open end of the bore, enclosing the bore, and compressing the spring within the assembly.
While the worker was standing in front of the cover while using a cutting torch on it the cover became separated from the assembly.
This released the energy stored in the spring, causing the cover and shaft to be propelled outwards. The cover hit the worker, causing a critical injury.
A follow-up investigation by the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development found that although London Salvage and Trading Company had a procedure for dismantling bulldozers, the procedure did not address the hazard of the release of energy from the spring tension assembly.
The worker had not been provided with the procedure document or told of its contents.
London Salvage and Trading Company was found to have failed as an employer to provide information, instruction and supervision to a worker with respect to the safe dismantling of a bulldozer at the workplace.