Edmonton worker at air-conditioning company injured

(Canadian OH&S News) — An employee of an Edmonton heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) company was seriously injured at work on the morning of May 16.

The 52-year-old man, who works for Silent Aire Manufacturing, was part of a group of employees who were preparing an air-conditioning system for movement from an assembly line that day, according to Christine Wronko, a media spokesperson with the Alberta Ministry of Labour (MOL). At about 11:30 a.m., the system fell over and pinned the worker from the midsection down.

“It was approximately a one-tonne HVAC unit,” said Wronko. “The worker was taken to hospital, where he remains following surgery.”

The MOL has not issued any orders to the employer as of yet, she added.

Mario Scrivano, Silent Aire’s vice president of human resources, told COHSN that the worker was recovering at the hospital.

“We’re working with the family and ensuring that the employee is our number one priority right now,” said Scrivano.

He declined to comment on the incident or provide further details about it, as there was an investigation underway by the company.

“Alberta Occupational Health and Safety is conducting an investigation. We’re cooperating with them,” said Scrivano. “Our company policy kind of prevents giving all the information until we’ve concluded our investigation.”

Silent Aire is a private, family-owned company that designs and manufactures custom HVAC systems, primarily for the healthcare, industrial and data-centre markets, according to information from its website. In business for more than 20 years, the company has also provided systems for corporations such as Amazon.com, Shell, Dow Chemical and Dell.