A St. Thomas auto parts plant has been dealt a hefty fine after a worker was injured on the job last month.
On Tuesday, Magna International Inc., which operates as Formet Industries, pleaded guilty and was hit with a $70,000 fine from the Ministry of Labour for failing to take precautionary measures for the protection of a worker.
At the factory, assembled truck frames are moved off of the production lines by a crane manually operated by a worker. The area around the crane is restricted and uses vertical rows of light beam sensors known as photo eyes at the entry points. When the sensors are interrupted, an alarm will sound along with a flashing warning light for five seconds to alert the crane operator that someone has entered the area before automatically shutting off. If the photo eyes are obstructed, the alarm will not sound again until the blockage is removed.
On February 28, a worker was told where they could place a drink at the direction of a crane operator. The worker assumed the operator would wait while he entered the restricted area to place the drink down. However, the operator whose back was turned away from said worker resumed the task not knowing the colleague was inside of the restricted area.
As a result of a miscommunication and the photo eyes being blocked, the worker was struck and pinned by a truck frame against some fencing inside the plant.
An investigation by the ministry determined that a pre-start health and safety review conducted nearly 20 years ago by an outside consultant recommended that the alarm should be silenced by the crane operator on duty and not automatically. Another suggestion in the review added that signage should be placed indicating that the area within the crane's range of motion is restricted.
On top of the initial fine, the court also imposed a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge as required by the Provincial Offences Act to assist victims of crime.