MIDDLESEX CENTRE, ONT. -- A London, Ont. company has been fined $75,000 after a worker was injured by falling tubing.
The incident happened at a warehouse facility belonging to the company in St. Thomas, Ont. on Nov. 4, 2019.
The Ministry of Labour says a worker from a temp agency was shadowing another worker as they retrieved stock for shipping.
The temporary worker was on foot using a weigh scale with a tube rack to weigh and split bundles with the other used a forklift to move the tubing to and from the scale.
The worker driving the forklift did not immediately see that a strap used to bundle the tubes was also wrapped around the tube rack on the scale, but began lowering when the rack started tipping.
However, the strap released and the falling bundle and rack - weighing about 1,300 pounds - hit the temporary worker, knocking them into a nearby desk and then pinning them to the floor.
The ministry says while it was general practice for workers to use a cinch strap, they had not been trained on how to do so safely and there were previous incidents of it getting caught on the tube rack frame.
As a result, the ministry found the company failed to ensure that measures and procedures were being followed for the safety of the workers.
Great Lakes Copper Ltd., which manufactures copper tubing for the plumbing, refrigeration and industrial markets, pleaded guilty in provincial offences court and was fined $75,000 and a 25 per cent victim surcharge.
