A worker at Stobag North America was on an elevated work platform. A moving toolbar struck the platform. The worker fell from it and sustained critical injuries.
What Happened
On April 10, 2023, a worker at Stobag North America Corporation was working from an elevated work platform. A moving toolbar struck the platform. The worker fell from the platform and sustained critical injuries.
Stobag pleaded guilty in the Halton Region Provincial Offences Court and was fined $50,000 plus a 25% victim fine surcharge under Section 25(2)(h) of the OHSA.
What the Law Says
Section 25(2)(h) OHSA: "An employer shall take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of a worker."
Basically, what this means is simple: keeping moving equipment out of the space an elevated work platform occupies, while a worker is on it, is a reasonable precaution. Not doing it is a Section 25(2)(h) violation.
Three Things This Case Teaches Ontario Industrial Employers
- Moving equipment does not stop on its own for a worker on an elevated platform. Before anyone works at height in a space that machinery moves through, the machinery must be stopped and locked out. This must be a written precondition in your elevated work procedure, not a judgment call on the day.
- No fall protection regulation was charged in this case. The conviction was under Section 25(2)(h), the general duty to take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances. On these facts, keeping a moving toolbar away from an occupied platform was one of those precautions.
- Elevated maintenance and inspection tasks near active production equipment require a pre-task hazard assessment that identifies every moving hazard that can reach the platform. "I was only going up for a minute" is not a risk assessment.
If your facility has machinery that moves through the space where workers use elevated platforms, this case belongs in your fall protection and lock-out/tag-out training. The full analysis is in the WorkSafe Sounds article linked above.