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P.A. Co-op fined $50k for safety violation

Dec 9, 2016 | 4:00 PM

The Prince Albert Co-op was hit with a hefty fine this week after a 2015 incident when an employee’s left hand came into contact with the blade of a table saw while he was cutting lumber.

The P.A. Co-operative Association Ltd. pleaded guilty in a Big River Provincial Court Dec. 5 to contravening clause 137 of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations. The clause in question states “… an employer or contractor shall provide an effective safeguard where a worker may contact a dangerous moving part of a machine.”

The incident occurred May 29, 2015 at the Co-op’s Big River Home Centre.

The Co-op was fined $35,714 for the violation, along with a surcharge of $14,286 for a total fine of $50,001. Two additional charges against the company were stayed.

P.A. Co-op CEO Dean McKim said the accident happened when an untrained employee tried to use the saw.

“We had an employee in this situation that was not trained to be on a piece of equipment and went on that piece of equipment unauthorized,” McKim told paNOW.

McKim said the OH&S investigation, as well as the Co-op’s internal inquiry, determined a guard had been removed from the saw some time before the accident occurred, leading to the fine.

“We’re not too sure why or exactly when it was taken off,” McKim said.

Since the incident, McKim said P.A. Co-op has changed out all their table saws for a product called SawStop, which automatically stops on accidental contact.

“With this new technology this situation would have only ended in scratches and not severe cuts,” McKim said. “We’ve taken as many steps as we can to protect our employees going forward.”

McKim said the injured worker is no longer employed by Co-op, and declined to comment on his condition.

Ray Anthony, executive director of occupational health and safety for Saskatchewan, said employees are prohibited from performing any activity that might endanger themselves or others, but ensuring equipment is safe to use is the responsibility of the employer.

“The machine is the property of the employer,” Anthony said. “The onus is on the employer to ensure those guards are in place. If they’re not, and something results, then the employer is the subject of the investigation.”

Another Saskatchewan business, Rest-Well Mattress Company Ltd., was fined for violating the same clause Dec. 1 in a Regina court. The mattress company was hit with a $28,000 fine and $11,000 surcharge after a June, 2015 incident when a worker’s head was pinched in a machine table while he was repairing it, causing injuries.

 

Taylor.macpherson@jpbg.ca

@TMacPhersonNews