Maple Leaf Foods hit with fine after worker, fork truck tumble off loading dock
by Canadian Manufacturing.com Staff
The worker was loading a Genie lift onto a truck at an Ontario plant when the truck rolled away from the loading dock
WOODSTOCK, Ont.—Maple Leaf Foods Inc. is facing its second workplace fine in as many months after a worker was injured falling off a loading dock at its Thamesford, Ont. plant.
The incident took place in September 2015 when an employee at a rental company arrived at the facility to pick up a one-person Genie lift used for warehousing and general maintenance.
A Maple Leaf worker was asked to load the Genie lift onto a the rental company’s truck, which was parked and unattended on a concrete ramp at a loading dock. However, when the worker lifted the Genie lift using an electric fork truck and drove it forward toward the truck’s deck, the truck began rolling down the ramp. It stopped when it struck a low barrier, but the fork truck, the Genie lift and the worker fell from the loading dock to the ground below.
The worker sustained unspecified injuries in the fall.
The Ministry of Labour’s subsequent investigation determined no Maple Leaf worker ensured the wheels of the truck were blocked before attempting to load the Genie lift. It said the company violated safety procedures for not making sure the Genie lift would not tip when transported.
The meat processing company pleaded guilty to the violation in court last week and will pay $110,000 as well as a 25 per cent victim surcharge regularly applied in these cases.
Maple Leaf was also fined last month for an injury at its Hannon, Ont. plant.
