Auto Glass Manufacturer Fined $50,000 for OSHA Violation, Injured Worker, at Ontario Plant
November 4, 2010

Pilkington Glass of Canada Ltd. in Toronto was fined $50,000 this week for a March 2009 incident that violated the Occupational Health and Safety Act and injured a worker, according to information from the Ontario Ministry of Labor (OML).

According to the OML, a worker was inspecting windshields on a conveyor belt at the company's manufacturing plant in Collingwood, Ontario, on March 23, 2009, when he dropped a roll of stickers under the conveyor belt and reached to pick them up.

"The worker's hand was caught and injured between parts of the conveyor and a damaged guard," writes the OML.

An OML investigation following the incident found that the guard was damaged and did not prevent access to the moving parts of the conveyor, according to the recently released report, and Pilkington pleaded guilty "to failing to replace or repair the damaged guard."

In addition to the fine, the company must pay a 25-percent victim fine surcharge, which "is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime."

At press time, Pilkington officials had not responded to request for comment.

Earlier this year, a Pilkington employee passed away after an injury at the company's automotive glass plant in Shelbyville, Ind. According to company officials, the deceased, Kelly Caudill, was "severely injured while undertaking a maintenance operation at the plant and died later in the hospital." As of October 1, the incident was being investigated by both the Indiana Department of Labor and the company. At press time, the results of neither investigation had been released.

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