BARWICK, Ont. - Engineered wood giant Norbord has been fined $65,000 for a 2018 workplace accident in which a worker was injured by a strapping machine.
The Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development described the accident in a report. A strapping machine is designed to apply strapping to bundles of oriented strand board (OSB) - Norbord's specialty product - prior to shipment.
The ministry says the strapping machine was running in automatic mode when it suddenly stopped while preparing to strap an OSB bundle. The worker began to troubleshoot. A gate then moved, causing the worker to be caught between the bundle and the top portion of the strapping machine.
Norbord was fined for having no guards in place on the machine. The company pled guilty in court last week.
The court also imposed a 25 percent victim fine surcharge, which is credited to a special government fund to help victims of crime.
In November, Norbord, the world's largest producer of OSB, was acquired by West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. in an all-stock transaction valued at C$4.0 billion (US $3.1 billion).
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