Shepherd's hook needs backup device, ministry orders

subscribe

The Ministry of Labour has issued an order that the use of a worker safety device called a shepherd's hook as the sole component in fall-arrest systems is to cease immediately in the province of Ontario.

"Our inspectors have now been directed to ensure that any shepherd's hooks that do not have a secondary fall-protection system be removed from service in workplaces subject o Ontario jurisdiction," said ministry spokesman Bruce Skeaff.

The order comes as a result of an accident in which a Hydro One worker fell 30 metres to his death in Cumberland on May 30.

"Our investigation into the fatality in Ottawa included a re-enactment of that incident, which showed us shepherd's hooks may become disengaged from their attachment point, unintentionally," Mr. Skeaff said.

Criminal charges will not be laid, Ottawa police said.

A shepherd's hook is a long staff, with a hooked end, that is attached to a lifeline that is then attached to a harness around a worker's waist. The hook is slung over a horizontal structure, in this case a steel girder, to prevent the person from falling.

"We've decided that they don't provide the amount of protection that is required by law under the Occupational Health and Safety Act," said Mr. Skeaff.

Ottawa paramedics said the 55-year-old man was assembling a hydro tower on the north side of Wilhaven Drive, between O'Toole and Quigley Hill roads, when he fell.

Three of his co-workers witnessed the fall and performed CPR on the injured man, who was pronounced dead at the scene. It is believed that he suffered massive head injuries. The man's name has not been released.

Related News

Overturning statewide vote, Maine court energizes Hydro-Quebec's bid to export power

BANGOR - Maine's highest court on Tuesday breathed new life into a $1-billion US transmission line that aims to serve as conduit for Canadian hydropower, ruling that a statewide vote rebuking the project was unconstitutional.

The Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the retroactive nature of the referendum last year violated the project developer's constitutional rights, sending it back to a lower court for further proceedings.

The court did not rule in a separate case that focuses on a lease for a 1.6-kilometre portion of the proposed power line that crosses state land.

Central Maine Power's parent company and Hydro-Québec teamed up on the…

READ MORE
nb power

Electricity subsidies to pulp and paper mills to continue, despite NB Power's rising debt

READ MORE

The Four Corners Power Plant

Renewables surpass coal in US energy generation for first time in 130 years

READ MORE

toronto-cleans-up-after-severe-flooding

Toronto Cleans Up After Severe Flooding

READ MORE

Duke Energy Florida's smart-thinking grid improves response, power restoration for customers during Hurricane Ian

READ MORE