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Last month, Ford Motor Co. of Canada in Burlington, Ont., was fined $850,000 for violations under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) after two workers were killed in separate incidents.
On Jan. 31, 2008, a worker was fatally injured at Ford's Oakville assembly plant after being crushed between two forklifts. The worker was standing beside a forklift when a co-worker reversed another forklift into the worker. A Ministry of Labour investigation found that the forklift operator did not keep a clear view of the vehicle's path of travel while reversing.
On Jan. 14, 2009, a worker driving a lift truck carrying an unsecured pallet was killed at Ford's Bramalea parts distribution centre. While the worker was driving the lift truck down a narrow aisle, the pallet struck a storage rack. The worker was crushed between the pallet and the vehicle. A Ministry of Labour investigation found that Ford's material movement policies and procedures were not adequate.
Ford pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to take all reasonable precautions in the circumstances to protect the safety of the workers.
The fine was imposed by Justice of the Peace Jerry Woloschuk. In addition to the fine, the court imposed a 25-percent 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.
www.ontario.ca/labour
On Jan. 31, 2008, a worker was fatally injured at Ford's Oakville assembly plant after being crushed between two forklifts. The worker was standing beside a forklift when a co-worker reversed another forklift into the worker. A Ministry of Labour investigation found that the forklift operator did not keep a clear view of the vehicle's path of travel while reversing.
On Jan. 14, 2009, a worker driving a lift truck carrying an unsecured pallet was killed at Ford's Bramalea parts distribution centre. While the worker was driving the lift truck down a narrow aisle, the pallet struck a storage rack. The worker was crushed between the pallet and the vehicle. A Ministry of Labour investigation found that Ford's material movement policies and procedures were not adequate.
Ford pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to take all reasonable precautions in the circumstances to protect the safety of the workers.
The fine was imposed by Justice of the Peace Jerry Woloschuk. In addition to the fine, the court imposed a 25-percent 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.
www.ontario.ca/labour
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Mississauga, Ont.'s RotoPrecision Inc., a provider of precision mechanical and power transmission components, has entered into an agreement with Ruland Manufacturing Co. Inc. to become its Master Distributor in Canada for their complete product range of shaft collars and couplings.
For more than 70 years, Ruland has been producing “thoughtfully designed” and “carefully made” products from its Marlborough, Mass., manufacturing facility. Through continuous innovation, manufacturing control and a range of proprietary processes including special materials and surface treatments, single-point facing shaft collars, anti-vibration coupling hardware and precision honing, “Ruland continues to drive the evolution of product performance and appearance,” the company says.
Ruland manufactures a full range of shaft collars, rigid couplings and flexible couplings including beam, bellows, oldham, jaw and disc. Recent product line extensions include metric shaft collars, metric rigid couplings, step bore couplings and motion control couplings.
In announcing this new alliance in Canada, Gregg Robinson, president of RotoPrecision, commented: “We are very excited to add Ruland’s excellent range of couplings and shaft collars to RotoPrecision’s family of world-class products. Ruland’s reputation as the leading manufacturer in their field will complement perfectly RotoPrecision’s existing products and services.”
Bob Ruland, president of Ruland Manufacturing, added: “Given its strong presence and solid reputation for distributing premium products, RotoPrecision will be a great partner for Ruland in Canada. We look forward to a long and successful relationship between our companies.”
www.rotoprecision.ca
www.ruland.com
Mississauga, Ont.'s RotoPrecision Inc., a provider of precision mechanical and power transmission components, has entered into an agreement with Ruland Manufacturing Co. Inc. to become its Master Distributor in Canada for their complete product range of shaft collars and couplings. For more than 70 years, Ruland has been producing “thoughtfully designed” and “carefully made” products from its Marlborough, Mass., manufacturing facility. Through continuous innovation, manufacturing control and a range of proprietary processes including special materials and surface treatments, single-point facing shaft collars, anti-vibration coupling hardware and precision honing, “Ruland continues to drive the evolution of product performance and appearance,” the company says.
Ruland manufactures a full range of shaft collars, rigid couplings and flexible couplings including beam, bellows, oldham, jaw and disc. Recent product line extensions include metric shaft collars, metric rigid couplings, step bore couplings and motion control couplings.
In announcing this new alliance in Canada, Gregg Robinson, president of RotoPrecision, commented: “We are very excited to add Ruland’s excellent range of couplings and shaft collars to RotoPrecision’s family of world-class products. Ruland’s reputation as the leading manufacturer in their field will complement perfectly RotoPrecision’s existing products and services.”
Bob Ruland, president of Ruland Manufacturing, added: “Given its strong presence and solid reputation for distributing premium products, RotoPrecision will be a great partner for Ruland in Canada. We look forward to a long and successful relationship between our companies.”
www.rotoprecision.ca
www.ruland.com
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U.S. and Canadian manufacturers’ sales dropped in April, after increases in February and March, according to sales data released by the Power Transmission Distributors Association (PTDA) in its Market Outlook Report. Sales in the U.S. dropped by 0.7 percent while Canadian sales dropped 10.4 percent.
For U.S. manufacturers, sales for April 2010 are up 12.7 percent compared to sales at this time last year. Canadian manufacturers’ year-to-year sales rose 15.2 percent for the same period.
Breaking a three-month neutral position of 5.0, U.S. manufacturers’ confidence gained a tenth of a point, rising to 5.1 on a scale of 1 (very pessimistic) to 10 (outstanding). Canadian manufacturers also rose from a negative position of 4.8 to a positive outlook of 5.1.
Month-to-month sales for product categories between March 2010 and April 2010 for Canadian manufacturers are reported below.
Canadian Manufacturer Percent Change in Product Sales
(March 2010 vs. April 2010)
For U.S. manufacturers, sales for April 2010 are up 12.7 percent compared to sales at this time last year. Canadian manufacturers’ year-to-year sales rose 15.2 percent for the same period.
Breaking a three-month neutral position of 5.0, U.S. manufacturers’ confidence gained a tenth of a point, rising to 5.1 on a scale of 1 (very pessimistic) to 10 (outstanding). Canadian manufacturers also rose from a negative position of 4.8 to a positive outlook of 5.1.
Month-to-month sales for product categories between March 2010 and April 2010 for Canadian manufacturers are reported below.
Canadian Manufacturer Percent Change in Product Sales
(March 2010 vs. April 2010)
| Product | Percent Change |
| Gear Products | –14.9% |
| Mechanical Drive Systems and Other PT Products | –12.1% |
