London metal fabricator fined $75k for worker injury
A London-based metal fabricator has been fined $75,000 in connection with a 2022 incident that led to a worker’s critical injuries.
Misteelco Inc., of Dundas Street in London pled guilty to a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act in provincial court. The company will also pay a 25% victim fine surcharge.
The incident occurred on October 24, 2022 at the company’s Prime Metal Service Centre in Kitchener.
On the day of the incident, beams used in the fabrication of steel products were stored in piles in the yard of the facility. When needed, beams would be brought into a workshop using a forklift.
A worker was helping a co-worker move a 735-pound, 40-foot S-beam from a pile in the yard into the shop. The co-worker was operating a forklift to lift the beams, while the other worker was on the ground to help steer the beams as they were driven through the door of the shop. This was necessary because the door was only 20 feet wide, while the beams were 40 feet long.
The co-worker threaded a metal chain around the forks of the forklift and attached a beam clamp to the end of the chain, then drove the forklift to the centre of a pile of beams to lift and move an S-beam from the middle of the pile.
The worker who had been standing beside the pile held the beam to steady and guide it. While this was being done the chain on the forks settled causing the beam to wobble and fall out of the beam clamp. This resulted in a critical injury.
An investigation by the Ministry of Labour found that Misteelco Inc. failed to ensure the S-beam was transported, placed and stored so that it would not tip, collapse or fall, and could be removed or withdrawn without endangering the safety of a worker.