Ontario Construction News staff writer
Kiwi Constructors Ltd. has been fined $70,000 after a worker was struck by a moving production table at the company’s precast concrete manufacturing facility in Guelph.
According to an Ontario court bulletin dated Oct. 9, 2026, the company pleaded guilty in Provincial Offences Court in Guelph to failing to ensure equipment had an adequate automatic warning system to alert workers when it was starting up or moving.
The incident happened Sept. 24, 2025, at the company’s facility at 41 Massey Rd.
Kiwi Constructors uses a semi-automated production system that moves large steel tables between workstations. On the day of the incident, a worker walking through the production area entered the path of a moving table and was struck by the equipment.
A Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development investigation found that portions of the equipment’s movement were not visible from the control station. The warning system, which used a white light to indicate when the tables were moving, was deemed inadequate.
The company was found to have contravened section 33 of Regulation 851 under the Occupational Health and Safety Act. The regulation requires automatic start-up warning devices where moving machinery cannot be fully seen from the control station and its movement could endanger workers.
A conviction was also issued under section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, which requires employers to ensure prescribed measures and procedures are carried out in the workplace.
Justice of the Peace Michael Cuthbertson imposed the $70,000 fine following the guilty plea on Sept. 18, 2026. The court also ordered a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge, as required under the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge goes to a provincial fund that assists victims of crime.
