Stackpole fined $80,000 after worker injured by grinding machine at factory in Stratford, Ont.

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A Toronto-based company that designs and manufactures fluid power systems and powder metal technologies has been fined $80,000 after a worker was injured at its plant in Stratford, Ont.

On the date of the incident, a worker at Stackpole International Power Metal was asked to perform a tool change on a grinding machine designed to finish metal parts.

The worker was in the process of the tool change when another worker turned the grinding machine on. This resulted in an injury.

An investigation by the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development found that a fixed barrier guard at the front of the machine that protected workers from moving parts had been removed.

Following a guilty plea in Provincial Offences Court, the company was fined $80,000.

The court also imposed a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.