A London, Ontario, company received a C$75,000 fine after a temporary worker was injured at its warehouse in St. Thomas, Ontario, according to a report by the Ontario Ministry of Labour.

Great Lakes Copper Ltd. entered a guilty plea in provincial offences court on Monday, according to the Ministry of Labour. The company manufactures copper tubing for the plumbing, refrigeration and industrial markets.

The incident happened on Nov. 4, 2019. A temporary worker suffered injuries after being struck and pinned to the floor by a bundle of tubes and a tube rack that together weighed 1,300 pounds, according to the ministry. The temporary worker had been shadowing another worker at the plant when the incident happened. The tubes and tube rack fell while being lifted by a forklift; a cinch strap broke causing them to fall.

In its announcement, the ministry noted the company’s standard operating procedure did not address the step of adding a cinch strap despite a schematic showing a cinch strap on a bundle.

“It was the general practice among workers to add a cinch strap, but they had not been trained on how to do so safely and the cinch strap had sometimes been caught on the tube rack frame during previous lifts.”

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