Magna subsidiary fined after worker injured at Perth, Ont. foundry
by Canadian Manufacturing.com Staff
The worker suffered a permanent hand injury while cleaning a machine that molds molten aluminum into castings
PERTH, Ont.—A unit of Ontario-based auto parts company Magna International Inc. has been fined $50,000 for a 2015 worker injury at a manufacturing plant in Perth, Ont.
The worker suffered a permanent hand injury May 9 while working at Grenville Castings’ foundry southwest of Ottawa.
According to the Minister of Labour, the incident took place when the worker was running a low-pressure casting machine that molds molten aluminum into castings.
While operating the machine, the worker noticed it was not pressurizing as expected and stopped to inspect what was wrong. The worker found excess metal on the machine’s gear track that was preventing it from running properly and began cleaning the metal with the help of a colleague. Though the machine was stopped, some of its components, known as core pulls, were not blocked. The worker’s colleague activated the core pulls, which began to move and caught the worker’s hand in a pinch point, causing permanent injuries.
Under the Regulation for Industrial Establishments any moving part of a machine, such as the core pulls, must be stopped before the equipment is cleaned or adjusted.
Magna Structural Systems Inc., which owns Grenville Castings, pleaded guilty to the violation in court last week.
