Roofing Manufacturer Fined $65,000 after Worker Injury

Following a guilty plea,  on January 9 Brampton based  I.G. Machine & Fibers Ltd  was fined $65,000 by Justice of the Peace Richard Quon in Brampton court; Crown Counsel Indira Stewart. The court also imposed a 25-per-cent victim fine surcharge as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime. The incident dates back to August 8 2016 when a worker was operating a laminator machine at  I.G. Machine & Fibers Ltd., a company that produces residential and commercial roofing products location on Orenda Road in Brampton. The machine was designed to automatically join asphalt and fiberglass materials together by the process of heat-welding; this process produces roof membranes for commercial roofing applications that prevent moisture penetration. The process involved feeding roofing material through large rollers. While adjusting product that was being fed through the laminator machine rollers, the worker’s arms were pulled between the rollers. The machine had previously been guarded with an anti-nip bar that prevented access to the rollers, but it had been removed at the time of the incident. The worker sustained critical injuries as a result of the incident.

Section 25 of Ontario Regulation 851/90 ( the Industrial Establishments Regulation) requires that any part of a machine, device or thing that may endanger the safety of any worker shall be equipped with and guarded by a guard or other device that prevents access to the pinch point. The court noted that I.G. Machine failed as an employer to ensure that the measures and procedures prescribed by the regulation were carried out at the workplace, contrary to section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.