Fell Off the Platform — How Three Warning Signs Were Ignored Before a Critical Mine Injury

Three Warning Signs Before a Fall — When the Pre-Use Inspection Isn't Enough

Let's talk about what happened at Glencore Canada Corporation's Nickel Rim South Mine in Skead, Ontario on October 20, 2023. Two workers were using a MacLean Scissor Truck in an underground stope to extend backfill lines and remove a ventilation curtain. Before the work began, they conducted a pre-use inspection of the truck. During that inspection, they found a missing pin on the rear railing of the scissor deck. They noted it. Then they continued working anyway. The area where the truck was operating had not been cleared of muck — the mining material that accumulates in the stope from blasting and excavation work. Muck creates uneven ground. Uneven ground causes vehicles to shift unexpectedly. Working on an elevated platform on a vehicle that is navigating uneven muck is exactly the kind of scenario where every railing and safety system needs to be intact. During the work, the crew used a chain attached to the rear railing to pull piping into alignment. This is not the approved method. The improper use of the railing with a chain damaged it further. The crew continued. When the truck moved forward over the uneven muck, the platform shifted. The worker on the back deck — the deck with the already-compromised railing — fell. They sustained critical injuries. A Ministry investigation found that the failure to clear the muck from the work area before using the scissor truck was the key precaution Glencore omitted. The company pleaded guilty in Sudbury Provincial Offences Court and was fined $120,000 plus a 25% victim fine surcharge.

What the Law Requires

Section 25(2)(h) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act requires employers to take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of a worker. Basically, what this means is simple: when workers will be operating mobile equipment on elevated platforms in an underground stope, clearing the muck from the work area before beginning is a reasonable precaution. It is not an optional step. Muck causes uneven ground. Uneven ground causes vehicles to shift. Workers on elevated platforms on shifting vehicles fall. The court found that Glencore failed to ensure this precaution was taken. The Ministry investigation identified muck clearance as the control that was missing. A pre-use inspection that flags a missing railing pin and results in the work continuing anyway is not a functioning safety system — it is paperwork. And using an improper chain method that further damages the railing while the crew is already aware of a defect compounds the failure. In the court's view, this was not an unforeseeable accident — it was the outcome of multiple warning signs that were observed and not acted upon. A missing railing pin, an improper rigging method, an uncleared work area, and a moving platform over muck: any one of these should have stopped the work. Together, they created the conditions for a critical injury. The $120,000 fine reflects the company's obligation to ensure those precautions are taken before workers are placed on elevated platforms.

What Supervisors Must Do

• Before any mobile equipment is positioned in a stope or underground working, confirm that the work area is clear of muck and that the ground is sufficiently level for safe equipment operation
• When a pre-use inspection identifies a defect — including a missing pin, damaged railing, or compromised guard — the equipment must be taken out of service until the defect is repaired; continue-working decisions are not acceptable
• Enforce approved rigging and material-handling methods; improvised techniques (such as using a railing as a rigging point with a chain) must be stopped immediately, regardless of task urgency
• Confirm that workers on elevated platforms are within the designed safety envelope of the equipment — including that all railings are intact and all safety features are functioning
• Keep asking: 'If this truck shifts right now because of the ground conditions, what protects the workers on the platform — and is that protection intact and in place?'

What Employers Must Do

• Establish a written requirement for muck clearance as a precondition for scissor truck and elevated-platform work in underground stopes — it must appear in your pre-task checklist as a non-negotiable stop point
• Implement a clear stop-work protocol: any pre-use inspection defect that affects fall protection (railings, guardrails, safety pins) results in equipment removal from service, not a documented note to address later
• Train all operators and supervisors on the approved methods for material handling with mobile elevated equipment; improvised rigging techniques must be explicitly prohibited in your procedures
• Include uneven ground, muck accumulation, and underground floor conditions as specific hazard categories in your mobile equipment pre-task assessment
• Conduct periodic audits of pre-use inspection documentation to verify that identified defects are actually resulting in equipment being taken out of service — not simply being recorded and ignored
• Review underground incidents and near-misses involving mobile equipment for patterns of deferred corrective action; if defects are repeatedly noted without equipment removal, the system needs to be corrected at the management level

How to Use This Case in Your Workplace

This case is a valuable safety conversation starter. Use it during toolbox talks before scissor truck or mobile elevated platform work underground, monthly safety meetings for mine supervisors and equipment operators, and pre-task assessment training on mobile equipment use in stopes. Walk your team through the situation and ask: 'If a pre-use inspection finds a missing railing pin on any of our equipment, what actually happens — does the equipment come out of service, or do we note it and continue?' 'Does our pre-task checklist for elevated platform work underground specifically require ground condition and muck clearance verification?' 'If a worker uses a railing as a rigging point with a chain, does our supervisor know to stop that work immediately?' This case reinforces a simple message: a pre-use inspection that finds defects but doesn't stop work is not a safety measure — it is documentation of a decision to continue into a known hazard.