Employee Electrocuted at Auto Parts Factory

By: Canadian Occupational Health & Safety News

GUELPH, Ont (Canadian OH&S News) -- Seven orders have been issued against Camtac Manufacturing Inc in Guelph, where a worker was electrocuted earlier this month.

An employee at the auto parts plant was working on a jib crane at 3 am on May 1. While holding the overhead chain of the crane, "when he reached to grab an overhead chain of another jib crane, it appears he came in contact with an electrical source," says Belinda Sutton, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Labour (MoL).

Three of the ministry's orders call for the cranes to be maintained in good condition; three stop work orders were placed on the cranes until these are complied with; and a seventh order calls for a professional electrical engineer to do a written assessment of the crane rail system and cranes located on the production line where the incident occurred. "The assessment was to determine the suitability of the crane electrical system for the environment in which it was being operated," Sutton says.

On May 1, the company voluntarily shut down all production lines that utilized a rail line system, Sutton notes.

(submitted by Tony Moscioni)