A Woodbridge contractor has been fined $68,000 in connection with a 2023 workplace injury.

Innovative Metal Works Inc., which manufactures and installs structural steel at construction projects, pled guilty to a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act in provincial court. In addition to the fine, the company will pay a 25-percent victim fine surcharge.

The incident occurred on a worksite on Main Street South in Newmarket on February 27, 2023.

Innovative Metal Works Ltd. had been contracted to erect the steel for a new three-storey addition on a hotel construction project.

On the day of the incident, the company had three workers erecting the steel for the new addition. One worker was at ground level rigging loads to a crane to be hoisted and the other workers were on the third level with two scissor lifts used to install and connect the beams once hoisted.

The ground-level worker connected one end of a nylon hoisting strap to the centre of a lateral assembly beam with a choke hitch and attached the other end of the nylon hoisting strap to the crane hook block. The crane then lifted the beam to be placed and connected.

The lateral assembly beam, still being moved by the crane, was near its final position and ready to be bolted into place when the nylon hoisting strap holding it to the crane broke, causing the beam to swing and fall critically injuring the ground-level worker.

An investigation by the Ministry of Labour found that the nylon hoisting strap used to hoist the lateral assembly beam was cut when it came into contact with the sharp capping plate on the assembly. There was no evidence of edge protection being used to preserve the integrity of the nylon hoisting strap as it contacted sharp edges on the assembly.

Innovative Metal Works Ltd. was found to have failed to ensure that the measures and procedures were carried out in the workplace, contrary to section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.