A Kirkland Lake auto shop has been fined in connection with a 2017 incident that critically injured two workers.
According to the Ministry of Labour, Lakeshore Motors was fined $45,000 after pleading guilty in a Kirkland Lake courtroom June 18. A 25 per cent victim fine surcharge was also imposed, which is required by the Provincial Offences Act and credited to a special provincial government fund to help victims of crime.
In a news release, the ministry said the hoists that failed Feb. 21, 2017 hadn't been inspected before use, and that the "joint health and safety committee had not performed any monthly inspections of the workplace in January or February 2017."
The ministry said that the company "failed to provide information, instruction and supervision on the safe operation and inspection of automotive hoists."
The incident happened when a vehicle raised about six feet in the air fell off the hoist while two workers were underneath doing repairs. The ministry said both workers suffered critical injuries.
"The hoist consisted of two metal posts, approximately six feet apart, which stick up vertically from the floor. Each post has two swing arms that are used to lift vehicles off the ground. To lift the vehicles, workers drive the vehicle over the arms, pivot the swing arms and set them underneath the vehicle in position so that they can engage with the vehicle's undercarriage," reads the release.
"The hoist is equipped with arm restraint gears designed to lock the swing arms in place once they are set in position. The vehicle can then be lifted to the desired height using the hoist's hydraulic pumps. Other gears engage to lock the arms into position at that height. The hoist has a 10,000-pound capacity."
The Ministry of Labour investigation revealed that at least one of the restraint arms on the hoist swung out of place, causing the vehicle to fall.
"Examination of the arm restraints revealed that the gears that were supposed to lock the arms in place were not functioning properly. The teeth on the gears were worn, rusted and in poor condition and the metal bars that hold the restraints together were bent," according to the release.
MOL inspectors found several shortcomings when the equipment was tested.
"One of the swing arms moved easily out of the set position when pushed by hand; a second swing arm moved out of position when forcibly pushed by hand and a third swing arm moved out of the set position when forcibly pushed by two inspectors. A Ministry of Labour engineer concluded that the restraint devices had not functioned properly for an extended period of time," reads the release.
The Ministry said the pads of the swing arms were worn and in poor condition, and several other hoists examined were also in poor condition.
A privately retained hoist inspector was retained, and four of the hoists failed their examinations.
According to the ministry, Lakeshore Motors had previously hired a company to inspect all the hoists, and the company performed primarily visual inspections that lasted about 15 minutes per hoist.
"Neither the company nor its owner were certified by the Automotive Lift Institute as lift inspectors. (This certification is not required by the Occupational Health and Safety Act or its regulations.)"
If the equipment had been inspected daily, as the equipment manual for the hoists stated, the ministry said said the defects would have been uncovered.
"Lakeshore Motors had not provided the workers with any information or instruction on inspection requirements and had not trained or instructed the workers on how to inspect the hoists. As a result, there was no regular maintenance routine in place for the hoists," said the ministry.
