NTN Bearing was fined a total of $62,500 after a worker was injured while servicing equipment on a production line at its Mississauga, Ont., plant.
        On May 27, 2022, the worker was performing maintenance work on an AVG (vacuum drying and lubrication) machine at the company’s plant at 6740 Kitimat Road, Mississauga. The car is not locked.
        The worker tried to adjust the air flow in the machine, reached into the vacuum head and gained access to the control valve. While the worker’s hand was still in the machine, the vacuum head moved downwards and injured the worker.
        The machine’s front access door is equipped with a safety lock that prevents the machine from cycling when the door is opened without a bypass key. All technicians, engineers, supervisors and some machine operators were equipped with bypass keys for safety interlocks, but there were no policies, procedures, risk assessments or worker training on how to use them.
       NTN Bearing Corporation of Canada Limited failed to comply with Section 75 of Ontario Regulation 851 and contravened Section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act by failing to lock the AVG machine during maintenance.
        The court also imposed an additional fine of 25 per cent on the victim, as required by the Provincial Offenses Act. The additional payment goes into a special provincial fund to help victims of crime.