General Motors of Canada has been fined $275,000 after a worker was injured during a maintenance task on a CNC machine at its St. Catharines, Ont., facility.
The auto manufacturer pleaded guilty in the Ontario Court of Justice in Welland to failing to take every reasonable precaution for worker protection, in violation of Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act. The incident occurred in January 2023 at the company’s facility on Glendale Avenue.
The court also imposed a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge, as required by the Provincial Offences Act.
Two workers had been performing a “probing routine” — a maintenance procedure — inside a large computer numerical control (CNC) machine. They used the company’s Controlled Access Procedure (CAP) to attempt to put the machine in safe mode. However, they skipped a critical step that required an interlock door to remain open. As a result, the machine remained active.
Believing it was in safe mode, one worker entered the machine through a side panel. After completing the task, they pressed start on a handheld control terminal. The machine switched into automatic mode and a moving part caused injury.
A subsequent investigation by the Ministry of Labour found that GM’s safety procedure did not clearly instruct workers how to confirm the machine was in safe mode. The company has since changed its protocols to prohibit full-body entry into CNC machines and now requires all probing to be done from outside the equipment.
