ST. CATHARINES, ON, Feb. 5 /CNW/ - Port Weller Drydocks (a division of Canadian Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd.) a company that built and repaired ships, was fined $175,000 on February 2, 2009, for a violation under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), after a worker was killed. On March 13, 2007, a crane operator, working for Port Weller Drydocks on Lakeshore Road East in St. Catharines, was using a crane to load a partially completed ship's hull onto another ship. The crane toppled and its cab was crushed against the concrete wall of the drydock. The crane operator died as a result of injuries sustained in the incident.

A Ministry of Labour investigation found that the crane was overloaded at a certain load radius point, and this was the root cause of the collapse. The crane was equipped with a load status indicator to warn operators if the load
radius rating of the crane was exceeded. The investigation found that there were no records of any calibration test being performed on the load radius indicator for approximately 17 months before the accident.

Port Weller Drydocks pleaded guilty under the OHSA of failing to ensure that the load radius indicator on the crane was maintained in good condition. The fine was imposed by Justice J. Nadel. In addition to the fine, the court also imposed a 25-per-cent victim fine surcharge on the total, as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.

HAMILTON, ON, Feb. 5 /CNW/ - Hamilton Steel GP Inc., a Hamilton steel producer, was fined $150,000 on February 3, 2009, for a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act after a worker was injured. On January 11, 2007, at the company's facility on Wilcox St. in Hamilton, a worker was completing maintenance work on a steel shear. A diverter table was installed on the shear using slings and an overhead crane. When the crane
was lowered and the slings supporting the table were slackened, the shear became unstable and it tipped onto the worker. The worker sustained shoulder, arm and leg injuries.

Hamilton Steel GP Inc. pleaded guilty to failing to ensure the shear was secured against falling or tipping after the diverter table was attached and the crane no longer supported the table's weight.

The fine was imposed by Justice of the Peace Don M. Stevely in the Ontario Court of Justice, Hamilton. In addition to the fine, the court imposed a 25-per-cent victim fine surcharge on the total, as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.

OTTAWA, Feb. 3 /CNW/ - FDM Capital Construction Ltd., a Nepean-based construction company, was fined $60,000 on January 30, 2009, for a health and safety violation, after a worker was injured.

On November 19, 2007, the company had been contracted to work on a new housing project at Block 3, Arrowglass Way, in Orleans. A worker was on the second floor of a unit, carrying plywood while walking backwards, and fell through an opening in the floor to the basement two storeys below. The worker
suffered severe head and shoulder injuries.

A Ministry of Labour investigation found that the company was not using adequate protective covering or guardrails to protect workers from openings in the work surface. FDM Capital Construction Ltd. pleaded guilty to violating section 26.3(2) of Ontario Regulation 213/91 for construction projects, which is contrary to section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. The fine was imposed by Justice of the Peace Richard Sculthorpe in the Ontario Court of Justice, Ottawa. In addition to the fine, the court imposed a 25-per-cent
victim fine surcharge on the total, as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.

NEWMARKET, ON, Jan. 29 /CNW/ - Martinrea International Inc., a multi-national automotive and industrial parts manufacturer with offices in Vaughan, was fined $250,000 on January 26, 2009, for a health and safety violation after one of its workers died in an industrial incident.

On April 23, 2007, an employee at M.J. Manufacturing, a Martinrea division on Travail Road in Markham, was repairing 9.1-metre (30-foot) outdoor light poles with the use of a scissor lift. A thunderstorm with wind gusts had been predicted by Environment Canada for that day. Despite specific warnings posted on the machine and in its operator manual against use in high winds, the worker standing on its work platform was using the scissor lift at a height of approximately seven metres (22 feet, ten inches) when the storm arrived with gusts of high wind. The lift was toppled by the wind, throwing the operator to the ground. The worker died the next day in hospital.A Ministry of Labour investigation found no evidence that the worker had received training in the safe operation of the scissor lift and the company had no written procedures in place for its safe operation. Martinrea International Inc. pleaded guilty to failing, as an employer, to provide information, instruction and supervision to a worker for safe operation of a scissor lift. This was contrary to section 25(2)(a) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

The fine was imposed by Justice S. C. Armstrong in the Ontario Court of Justice, Newmarket. In addition to the fine, the court imposed a 25-per-cent victim fine surcharge on the total, as required by the Provincial Offences
Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.