Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development
Convicted: Orin Contracting Services Inc., 100 MacIntosh Blvd., Concord, Ontario
Location of Workplace: 5799 Yonge Street, Toronto, Ontario
Description of Offence: During construction of high-rise residential towers, a worker was fatally injured when a thirteen-ton counterweight from an excavator fell on them. Orin Contracting Services Inc. failed to ensure the safety measures and procedures for removing a counterweight from an excavator, prescribed in section 93(3) of O.Reg. 213/91 were followed, contrary to section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.O.1.
Date of Offence: February 28, 2020
Date of Conviction: July 15, 2022
Penalty Imposed:
- Following a guilty plea in the Ontario Court of Justice, Old City Hall, Orin Contracting Services Inc. was fined $125,000 by Mr. Justice M. McLeod; Crown Counsel, Wes Wilson.
- The court also imposed a 25-per-cent victim fine surcharge as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.
Background:
- In early 2020, Roni Excavation Ltd. (“Roni”) and one of its subsidiaries, Orin Contracting Services Inc., were contracted to conduct excavation and backfilling at a construction site for five residential condominium towers.
- On February 28, 2020, a worker and their supervisor went to the site to prepare an excavator for movement to another construction site.
- In order for the excavator to be moved, it was necessary to remove its bucket, boom, and counterweight to reduce the overall weight of the machine.
- The employer was provided with a Manufacturer’s Operation and Maintenance Manual, which outlined the procedure for safe removal of the counterweight to prevent injury or death.
- The specified procedure involves engaging the hydraulic system of the excavator, but the work crew did not use the manufacturer’s specified procedure. Instead, they backed a truck up to the counterweight to use as a work platform and began removing the mounting bolts.
- After three of the six mounting bolts for the counterweight were removed, the supervisor climbed onto the excavator to remove a camera and lights from the machine to prevent damage. The worker continued removing bolts, and when loosening the sixth bolt, the thirteen-ton counterweight fell onto them causing fatal injuries.
- Orin Contracting Services Inc. failed to ensure the safety measures and procedures for removing a counterweight from an excavator, prescribed in section 93(3) of O.Reg. 213/91 were followed, contrary to section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.O.1.