Sand & Gravel Company Fined $110,000 for Worker’s Fatal Crushing Injuries

A crew of workers was preparing to dismantle a stacker conveyor. They were supposed to fold and lower the stacker’s head frame onto the centre frame so it could be moved to another location. But a belt restraint bar on the stacker prevented the head frame from being fully lowered. A crew member lifted another worker to a height of about nine feet using a front end loader; he then climbed between the partly-folded head and centre frames to access a pin securing the belt restraint bar. When a hydraulic cylinder broke, the head frame collapsed on the worker. He later died from the crushing injuries. The company pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that the head frame was blocked so as to prevent its accidental lowering and was fined $110,000 [G. Tackaberry & Sons Construction Company Ltd., Govt. News Release, Oct. 28, 2013].