Audit finds Miller Waste’s safety practices adequate after company involved in two fatal collisions

By James Sebastian-Scott

An independent safety audit has been completed on the Occupational Health and Safety practices and training of Miller Waste Systems. 

The review comes after two pedestrians were killed in two separate incidents involving Miller Waste vehicles in July 2020 and February 2021. 

The review was completed by Datum Safety Resources in partnership with Mazur Safety. 

Regional council asked for the independent audit to be done last April. 

The first incident happened in July 2020, where 68-year-old Nancy Ouellette was struck by a garbage truck while out walking her dog at the time. It happened in the Country Way and Tuerr Drive area of Kitchener. She and her dog both died from their injuries. A 29-year-old Cambridge man was charged with careless driving causing death.

The second incident happened last February, where a 77-year-old woman was crossing the street in the area of Tremaine Crescent and Tremaine Drive in Kitchener. The 77-year-old also died from her injuries. A 43-year-old Cambridge man was charged with dangerous operation of a vehicle causing death, and criminal negligence causing death.

The report said the current occupational health and safety program has the necessary elements in place. 

“A well established occupational H&S program is in place, including internal resources to administer and coordinate H&S activities, training and continuous improvement”, said the audit. “The vehicle maintenance and repair program is well established and implemented to ensure vehicles are in good working condition with records inspected completed in full with any noted defects fully tracked and repaired.” 

Some of the other findings in the audit included: 

  • Employee training including orientation, driver training and job-specific procedures are well established and comprehensive.
  • A comprehensive incident investigation system is in place whereby collision reports are reviewed by an internal committee and necessary corrective action implemented

Some opportunities for improvement were identified including better document control, training record management and documenting new safety devices. The auditors said those areas were not of “significant concern” as training completion was otherwise verified. 

Jon Arsenault, the Director of Waste Services for the Region of Waterloo recommends no other action is required at this time. 

“In the opinion of the auditors, Miller’s current occupational health and safety program has the necessary key elements in place, is predominantly in compliance with the Occupational Health and Safety act and meets Miller’s contractual obligations.” 

The audit was completed from August 27 to October 15.

Auditors took a look at complaints that were made by residents since September 2019. A total of 16 complaints were made and the auditors suggest those complaints were generally regarding concerns about unsafe driving and speeding. Auditors also reviewed 13 vehicle collisions where all collisions were reported to management by staff. Those collisions occurred between Sep. 4, 2020 to Aug. 5 2021. 

“Supported by Health and Safety staff, investigations are conducted of each incident. Once the investigation is completed, an Accident Review Committee comprised of management and non-management staff, reviews the incident to determine if it was preventable by Miller management and non-management staff (at fault). If the committee determines that it was preventable, necessary disciplinary action is taken with the Miller staff member. These investigations are thorough, and Miller implements corrective actions and improvements as deemed necessary by the Accident Review Committee,” said the audit. 

Denis Goulet is the President of Miller Waste Systems and he sent the following statement Friday morning.

“We're pleased the report the Region of Waterloo independently commissioned confirms that Miller Waste has a robust health and safety program that meets all of our statutory and contractual requirements. However, we must strive for continuous improvement, and nowhere more so than in matters of the health and safety of our employees and the public. We will take the opportunity to use those learnings from the report to help identify areas we can improve on moving forward.” 

Goulet adds these two incidents are the only two pedestrian fatalities that have occurred in the 60-year history of Miller Waste Systems. 

The audit will be presented to the Committee of the Whole at Regional Council Tuesday. 

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