A North York contractor and its supervisor have been fined a total of $147,000 for their roles in a 2023 incident that led to a worker’s injuries.

Fer-Pal Construction Ltd., which provides trenchless technology in watermain rehabilitation and its supervisor Antonio Visconti were found to have violated sections of the Occupational Health and Safety Act in connection with the incident.

Both pled guilty in a Kitchener courtroom. Fer-Pal Construction was fined $140,000, while Visconti was fined $7,000.

The court also imposed a 25 percent victim fine surcharge as required by the Provincial Offences Act.

The incident occurred on July 11, 2023 at a worksite on 561 Hespeler Road in Cambridge.

Fer-Pal Construction has been contracted by the City of Cambridge to rehabilitate a section of water main at the workplace location. The crew consisted of site supervisor Visconti and five workers.

The work involved lining approximately 100 metres of a 16-inch water main. To complete the job, the liner resin needed to be cured by introducing hot water into the water main. Water was heated in a boiler truck to approximately 65-70°C and then circulated in the water main for several hours.

During the final stages of the relining process, a worker was asked by their foreman to remove a hose from a connection located in the access pit. The worker climbed into the excavation using wooden shoring and began to remove the hose. During this process, the worker was exposed to hot water circulating in the water main and suffered serious injuries.

The worker had attempted to exit the pit once, but fell back in. The worker managed to climb out of the pit after a second attempt.

An investigation by the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development found that a ladder had been supplied at the edge of the excavation at grade but was not installed in the excavation at the time of the incident. This resulted in delayed egress from the excavation when the incident occurred.

Fer-Pal Construction was found to have failed, as an employer, to ensure that adequate means of egress was provided to permit the evacuation of workers during an emergency.

Visconti, meanwhile, was found to have failed as a supervisor to ensure egress from a work area located below ground level in the form of stairs, a runway, ramp or ladder, and failed to provide adequate means of egress from the work area to permit the evacuation of workers during an emergency.