Lafarge Canada Inc. was fined $350,000 for a violation of the Occupational Health & Safety Act (the Act). The incident took place on August 27, 2008 and resulted in a worker being killed.

According to the Ministry of Labour (MOL), workers at the company’s cement plant in Ernestown, Ontario were lining the inside of a kiln with new bricks. They were using a special rig consisting of a work platform mounted on four legs with an overhead arch to hold up the bricks. As workers advanced the rig along the sloping kiln floor, the legs were adjusted to keep the platform level. The tragic incident took place when the rig was being adjusted and the platform “lurched forward”. This resulted in the workers on the platform falling to the ground along with the arch. The arch landed on one of the workers.

The company did not have a written policy or clearly planned procedures for moving and adjusting the rig on the sloping floor of the kiln.

Lafarge Canada Inc. pleaded guilty for failing to take "every reasonable precaution in the circumstances for the protection of a worker" as required by section 25(2)(h) of the Act.

 Note:The WHSC offers a number of training programs helping employers, supervisors, joint committee members and certified members to understand the duties and responsibilities mandated by the Act and related regulations. This includes the employer duty to develop and implement policies and programs as required by section 25(2)(j) of the Act. Examples of related WHSC training programs include:

• Certification Training
• Supervisor Health & Safety Training
• Health and Safety Awareness (Legislation) Training

Want to know more about this or other MOL prosecutions?

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Want to know more about the WHSC Fall Protection training?

Want to know how WHSC training can help your workplace—call 1-888-869-7950 or contact a training service representative at a WHSC near you.