HAWKSVILLE, ONT. — Hawksville, Ont.-based AMI Attachments Inc., a heavy construction equipment manufacturer, has been fined $65,000 after a worker was seriously injured while operating a magnetic lifting device on Feb. 15, 2024.
According to an Ontario court bulletin, a young worker was tasked with moving steel from a receiving area onto storage blocks. In order to lift the steel parts, workers use an overhead bridge crane hooked to chains, straps or magnetic devices. The decision on what device to use is based on their knowledge and experience.
The worker used a magnetic lifting device attached to a chain that hung from the crane hook to pick up a square steel tube. It was half-an-inch thick and weighed 682 pounds.
As the worker stood in an aisle between two steel racks, the steel tube became detached from the magnetic lift and fell about two feet to the floor, seriously injuring the worker.
A Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development investigation determined the worker was not adequately trained on the use of the overhead crane and the magnetic lifting device. They were also not accompanied or instructed by a competent person when they were performing the task.
As a result, AMI Attachments Inc. failed to ensure the measures and procedures as prescribed by section 51(2) of Ontario Regulation 851/90 were carried out at the workplace, contrary to sections 25(1)(c) and 66(1) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
The company was convicted and fined on Jan. 24 following a guilty pleas in Provincial Offences Court in Kitchener by Justice of the Peace Michael Cuthbertson.
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