Glenmore Fabricators Ltd. pleaded guilty to one count under the Occupational Health and Safety Code for failing to develop and comply with procedures certified by a professional engineer. The sentencing came down Oct. 15, and the Crown withdrew 10 other charges.
The incident occurred Aug. 16, 2021, when a worker, a man in his 50s, was moving a steel beam with an overhead crane. The beam released from the rigging, falling on the man. Another worker on scene called in the incident and moved the beam off the man.
When EMS responded, the man was in life-threatening condition. He was ultimately declared dead at the scene.
Following a multi-year investigation, the company was assessed $200,000 in total penalties, “including a $1,000 fine inclusive of the 20 per cent victim fine surcharge,” according to a Government of Alberta news release.
The company’s financial penalty payments are split up, with $174,000 ordered to be paid to SAIT to purchase equipment for the electrical and welding apprenticeship programs, and $25,000 ordered to the Manufacturers’ Health and Safety Association to enhance the rigging resource centre website.
Glenmore Fabricators has also been placed on two years of enhanced regulatory supervision, which means the company will be required to complete action items aimed at enhancing corporate or individual health and safety systems or knowledge.
“The Occupational Health and Safety Act provides a creative sentence option in which funds that would otherwise be paid as fines are directed to an organization or project to improve or promote workplace health and safety,” the Alberta government wrote regarding the allocation of finances in this sentencing.