Ornamental Mouldings Company Fined $55,000 After Worker Injured

Kitchener, Ont. - Ornamental Mouldings Company, a manufacturer of wooden mouldings, pleaded guilty and was fined $55,000 on December 14, 2009, for a violation under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) after a worker was injured.

On October 22, 2008, a worker was using a moulder machine at the company's Waterloo facility. The moulder had moving rollers and cutter heads to pass the wood through the machine and make the desired cuts.  In order to clean excess sawdust out of the machine, the worker stopped the rollers but not the cutter heads.  The worker was using a rag to clean out the sawdust when the rag was pulled into a cutter head along with the worker's fingers.  Two fingers were instantly amputated.

A Ministry of Labour investigation found there was no adequate guard to prevent the worker from touching the cutter head on the moulder machine.

Ornamental Mouldings Company pleaded guilty to failing, as an employer, to ensure that the cutter heads of the moulder machine were guarded by a guard or other device to prevent access to moving parts.

The fine was imposed by Justice of the Peace Sharon Woodworth.  In addition to the fine, 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.

Court Information at a Glance

Location:                    Ontario Court of Justice

                                    77 Queen St. N.

                                    Kitchener, Ont.

Judge:                        

Justice of the Peace Sharon Woodworth

Date of Conviction:

December 14, 2009

Defendants:

Ornamental Mouldings Company

Matter:                      

Occupational Health and Safety

Convictions:

Ontario Regulation 851, Section 24

Crown Counsel:

Courtney Harris