On June 15, 2023, during a scheduled shutdown at Algoma Steel’s Sault Ste. Marie plant, contract workers were cleaning a 36-inch coke oven gas pipeline. The line had been purged with nitrogen to remove flammable gas, which also removed the oxygen. Entry was never part of the job. Near the end of the work, one worker was feeding a camera into the pipe so a co-worker could photograph the interior. He then went inside and died from lack of oxygen.

This month, the province announced that Algoma Steel had been fined $200,000, plus a 25% victim fine surcharge, after pleading guilty under Ontario’s confined spaces regulation, according to Canadian Occupational Safety. The ministry found the worker was experienced and trained. Neither Algoma nor the contractor, GFL Environmental Services, had authorized or expected anyone to enter the pipe. But the pipeline had not been secured against unauthorized entry and no warning signs were posted.

The worker was Damien Bryant of Sudbury. He was 21, as Canadian Occupational Safety reported.

Why Do Confined Space Deaths Keep Happening to Trained Workers?

The hardest part of this case is that the paperwork was largely right. The hazard was identified. The scope said no entry. The worker had training.

What was missing was a physical control at the opening itself. A rule that lives in a pre-job briefing is only as strong as the next decision someone makes alone, at the end of a long shutdown shift, when a quick look inside seems harmless.

Ontario’s confined spaces requirements are direct about this. Where unauthorized entry is possible, each entrance must be adequately secured, barricaded, signed, or both barricaded and signed. The ministry’s guidance says only authorized personnel may enter, and an attendant must control access while anyone is inside. It also notes that oxygen deficiency, often caused when other gases such as nitrogen displace oxygen, is a significant cause of confined-space deaths.

Why Is Shutdown Season the Highest-Risk Window?

Large manufacturers, steel mills, refineries and chemical plants run turnarounds every year. In a matter of weeks, a site that normally runs with a stable, known workforce suddenly hosts dozens or hundreds of contractors, many working on equipment that is normally sealed.

That combination creates the conditions behind cases like Algoma’s: pipes, tanks, vessels and ducts opened at once; atmospheres altered by purging; and supervisors spread thin across many jobs. Coordination gaps between owner and contractor are common. In the Algoma case, the original charges also included an alleged failure to prepare the coordination document the regulation requires, though that count was withdrawn as part of the plea.

How Does Confined Space Entry Monitoring With CCTV Work?

To be clear about limits: a camera does not replace a lock, a barricade, gas testing, a permit or a trained attendant. Those remain the legal and practical foundation. What confined space entry monitoring with CCTV adds is a second line of defence that does not get tired, distracted or called to another job.

Temporary cameras on open entrances. During a shutdown, portable or quick-mount IP cameras can be placed at every opened manway, pipe end or vessel hatch on the confined-space register. Wireless and PoE models can be relocated as the job sequence changes.

Zone analytics at the opening. Video analytics can draw a virtual boundary at the entrance. When a person crosses it, the system alerts the attendant, the area supervisor and the safety desk within seconds. For a “no entry” space like the Algoma pipeline, any crossing is an alarm. For a permitted entry, the alert confirms that the attendant is present.

Attendant presence checks. Cameras can verify that an attendant is at the opening for the full duration of an entry. If the attendant leaves the defined zone while someone is inside, the system flags it.

Integration with gas monitoring. Where fixed or area gas monitors are in use, linking their alarms to the camera view gives responders an immediate picture of what is happening at that opening, including how many people are nearby.

Central oversight for the safety team. On a big turnaround, one safety coordinator can watch every active confined space on a single screen, instead of relying on radio check-ins.

Can Footage Support Coaching and Culture Instead of Blame?

It should. Many experienced trades workers have made a “quick look” decision at some point in their careers and got away with it. Reviewing footage of near-misses, such as someone leaning into a manway or an attendant stepping away, opens honest conversations about why those choices happen: time pressure, unclear scope, or a tool that would make the job possible without entry.

Notably, the task in this case was itself camera-based inspection of a pipe interior. Better remote inspection tools, longer push cameras and clear instructions about what to do when a camera jams can remove the temptation to go in.

Sites that use video this way tend to see stronger reporting of near-misses, and workers who feel the company is invested in getting them home. That matters for retaining skilled trades in a tight market. Be transparent: Ontario employers with 25 or more employees must have a written electronic monitoring policy, and contractor agreements should state that shutdown areas are monitored.

What Should a Shutdown Camera Plan Include?

For a large plant turnaround, a practical plan looks like this:

• A camera on every confined-space entrance on the register that will be opened.

• Analytics zones configured as “no entry” or “attendant required” for each space.

• Alert routing to attendants’ radios or phones, the area supervisor and a central safety desk.

• Footage retained through the end of the shutdown and any incident review.

• A post-shutdown review of flagged events, used in the next turnaround’s planning.

ForceVision helps large manufacturers and heavy-industry sites across Southern Ontario design permanent and temporary camera systems that support safety teams, not just security. If you are planning a turnaround and want to talk through confined-space coverage, we would be glad to walk the plan with your safety lead.

The Takeaway

Pull your confined-space register before your next shutdown and ask one question for every entry on it: if someone decided to go in alone, unplanned, who would know, and how quickly? If the answer depends on a person happening to walk by, it is time to consider confined space entry monitoring with CCTV alongside your barricades, signs and permits.

FAQ

Q: Can cameras replace a confined-space attendant in Ontario?
A: No. Ontario’s requirements call for an attendant to control access during entry. Cameras support the attendant and alert supervisors when someone crosses an entrance without authorization.

Q: Are temporary cameras practical during a plant shutdown?
A: Yes. Portable, wireless or PoE IP cameras can be mounted at opened manways and moved as work progresses, then removed when the turnaround ends.

Q: How does video help contractors and plant owners coordinate safety?
A: Shared live views and alerts give both the owner and contractor the same real-time picture, which helps close the coordination gaps that often appear during large shutdowns.

Q: Will workers accept monitoring at confined spaces?
A: Most do when it is explained honestly as a safety measure, written into the electronic monitoring policy and used for coaching rather than punishment.