By Staff
February 10th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
Convicted: Cogent Power Inc., a manufacturer of transmission equipment for distribution of electrical energy was fined $90,000 when a worker was injured after becoming caught in moving machinery which had not been equipped with a guard or other device to prevent access to a pinch point, as required by law.
Location of Workplace: The company’s manufacturing plant located at its Laurentian Drive head office location in Burlington.
The offence too place on May 22, 2019 with a conviction of February 5, 2021.
Penalty Imposed:
• Following a guilty plea in provincial offences court in Burlington, Cogent Inc. was fined $90,000 by Justice of the Peace Jean Carter; Crown Counsel Line Forestier.
• 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.
Background:
• On May 22, 2019, a worker was training another worker on how to operate a forming machine known as the Former #5. The Former #5 is a four-piston hydraulic table press with four dies. This equipment is used to form products known as ’rounds’ which are used in the electrical energy sector.
• The Former #5 is normally operated by a single worker who stands at the control panel located on the east side of the equipment. That side of the equipment is equipped with a light curtain to protect the operator. When a light curtain is interrupted, the machine stops and cannot be activated until the worker leaves the hazardous envelope and the light curtain is restored.
• While the trainee was operating the controls at the east side, the trainer noticed an issue with the product being formed and proceeded to the west side of the machine to inspect the product while it remained in the Former. The four dies were extended and secure against the product. The trainer then accidentally dropped a glove into the area.
• When the trainer reached out to retrieve the glove, the dies were inadvertently released by the trainee, and the trainer was caught in a pinch point between the moving south die and its housing, causing injury. The trainer was transported to the hospital for medical attention.
• The Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development conducted an investigation and concluded the west side of the Former #5, where workers had access, was not equipped with a guard or device to prevent a worker from being caught or pinched between moving parts.
• The defendant failed to ensure the west side of the equipment was equipped with a guard or a device of some kind to prevent access to the pinch point created when the dies were in movement. As such, the defendant failed to comply with section 25 of the Industrial Establishments Regulation (Regulation 851) and thereby did violate section 25(1)(c) of the Occupati onal Health and Safety Act.
Ron Harper chats with assembly workers Tim Vaughn and Elvis Agard. PHOTO: RODNEY DAW
Cogent Power Inc., earned the 2015 Ontario Export Award for Leadership. Their growth to continued. As the demand and use of electrical energy increases, North America’s supply infrastructure is due for some modernizing. The need for creative solutions to make transmission and distribution more efficient has never been greater.
As one of the largest producers of toroidal cores in North America, Cogent is well positioned to take advantage of this expanding market. Already exporting to the US and Mexico – in addition to sales to BC Hydro and Quebec Hydro – the company is becoming the go-to manufacturer for utilities across the continent.
How did it get to this point?
“We had lots of challenges and it didn’t happen overnight,” says Ron Harper from Cogent’s Burlington head office.
The company’s roots go back to the early 1980s when Bob Brigs started an electrical steel product company. Supplier Dofasco was nearby, as were sea ports to reach customers. By 2002 the company, then called Cormag Inc., became Cogent Power Inc. The following year, Cogent moved into the Burlington headquarters and plant. In 2004, the company closed its plants in Monterrey, Mexico and Bridgeport, Conn. and consolidated everything in Burlington where Cogent manufactures transformer cores for electrical utilities.
“That could be anything from a core the size of a wedding ring to a toroidal core that is 2,000 plus pounds that we’ll ship in logs to go into power generation. Everything is custom,” says Matt Stimac, Cogent’s manager of engineering and quality.
With government legislation throughout North America driving electrical utilities and transformer manufacturers to come up with innovative ways to increase efficiencies, Cogent also makes amorphous metal distribution transformer cores. They can achieve a 70% reduction in no-load loss. This means the electricity that enters the transformer isn’t lost before being transferred to the home, office, or institution using it.
