Trenton Company fined after worker injured by steel struts

A worker at a steel fabrication company suffered permanent crushing injuries after moving a bundle of steel using an overhead crane.

On March 8, 2016, a worker was given the task of moving a bundle of steel using an overhead crane. The bundle consisted of 20 steel struts stacked in four rows with three-inch wooden spacers between each row. The bundled weighed about 2,600 pounds and was 20.5 feet long.

The worker used a set of lifting chains attached to the overhead crane to move the bundle and was holding onto the bundle to keep it steady as it lifted. As the load was being raised, one of the outer steel struts in the bundle suddenly moved inward and pressed against the next steel strut. The worker suffered a crushing injury which resulted in a permanent injury.

The investigation by the Ministry of Labour revealed that it was common for the steel struts to shift in this manner when being moved by overhead cranes.

Section 45(a) of Ontario Regulation 851 (the Industrial Establishments Regulation) states that materials, articles or things required to be lifted, carried or moved, shall be lifted, carried or moved in a manner that does not endanger the safety of any worker.

Frazier Industrial Company operating as Fracan, 163 North Murray Street, Trenton, Ont., a steel fabrication facility, was convicted of the offence on November 22, 2017.

Fracan was fined $55,000 by Justice of the Peace Christopher I. Peltzer in Belleville court at 235 Pinnacle Street; Crown Counsel Jai Dhar.

Source: Ontario Ministry of Labour