Company Fined for Lockout Violation

Workers are frequently injured while trying to retrieve objects or trying to clear blockages in machinery that is still running. An Ontario mill has been fined $60,000 after such an incident caused serious hand injuries to a worker.

The Elk Lake Planing Mill Ltd. employee was trying to remove a broken board from a planer when the worker’s hand became caught by a moving roller. Ontario Ministry of Labour investigators determined that the company failed to ensure that repair work was done on a machine only when motion that could endanger a worker was stopped.

In addition to the fine, the mill must pay a $15,000 victim fine surcharge.