Concord contractor fined $125K for role in 2020 fatality
A 2020 construction-site fatality has led to a fine of $125,000 for a Concord contractor.
Orin Contracting Services entered a guilty plea in the Ontario Court of Justice to charges under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA). In addition to the fine, the company will pay a 25-percent provincial surcharge that supports victims of crime.
The incident occurred in February 2020 at a high-rise residential construction site on Yonge Street in Toronto.
Roni Excavation Ltd. and its subsidiary, Orin Contracting Services, were contracted to conduct excavation and backfilling at a construction site for five residential condominium towers.
On February 28, 2020, a worker and their supervisor went to the site to prepare an excavator for movement to another construction site. In order for the excavator to be moved, its bucket, boom and counterweight first had to be removed to reduce the overall weight of the machine.
Procedures specified in the excavator’s operation and maintenance manual called for engaging the hydraulic system of the excavator. The work crew did not follow that procedure. Instead, they backed a truck up to the counterweight to use as a work platform and began removing the mounting bolts.
After three of the six mounting bolts for the counterweight were removed, the supervisor climbed onto the excavator to remove a camera and lights from the machine to prevent damage. The worker continued removing bolts, and when loosening the sixth bolt, the thirteen-ton counterweight fell onto them causing fatal injuries.
An investigation by the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development found that Orin Contracting Services had failed to ensure the safety measures and procedures for removing a counterweight from an excavator were followed. The company was charged under the OHSA.