Ontario firm fined after quarry worker pulled into moving machinery, killed
by Canadian Manufacturing.com Staff
A worker was dragged into a conveyor pulley while performing seasonal maintenance at an Orillia, Ont. site
ORILLIA, Ont.—Walker Aggregates Inc. has been hit with a $170,000 fine for a 2017 incident that left one worker dead at a quarry north of Toronto.
The company pleaded guilty to violating provincial health and safety rules in an Orillia, Ont. courtroom earlier this week.
The workplace accident happened in February of last year as work crews were prepping machinery for a new production season following a six-week winter shutdown.
Two workers were removing ice buildup on a pair of running conveyors when a metal bar one of the workers was using caught in a pinch point on the conveyor’s pulley. The machinery pulled both the bar and worker in. The worker suffered fatal head injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.
A Ministry of Labour investigation found that power to the conveyor should have been cut and the machine locked and tagged out at the time, violating health and safety rules. Moreover, the conveyor did not need to be running to perform the maintenance.
