SHELBYVILLE, Ind. (AP) — Indiana regulators have fined a
central Indiana glass factory $150,000 after inspectors found company
managers had failed to correct several workplace safety lapses
discovered at the plant following a worker’s 2010 death.
Pilkington
North America was fined last month by the Indiana Occupational Safety
and Health Administration after it conducted a follow-up inspection this
spring at the Shelbyville plant about 25 miles southeast of
Indianapolis.
The Indianapolis Business Journal reported (http://bit.ly/RpyB96 ) that a
July 27 safety order alleges six "repeat" violations by the
Toledo, Ohio-based subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate NSG Group.
The
Shelbyville plant first fell under state scrutiny after a worker was
fatally crushed in plant machinery two years ago. Because the six
violations are repeated this time, each proposed fine has increased
five-fold.
Indiana Department of Labor spokesman Bob Dittmer said
the state agency has launched another investigation into safety
violations at the Pilkington plant, which employs about 350 workers who
make glass for companies such as Honda, Nissan, Toyota, GM and
Mitsubishi.
Dittmer declined to discuss the details of the new investigation.
"We
really, really, really don’t like repeating violations," he said. "The
whole point of our inspections is, really, to ensure that our employer
is creating a safe and healthy working environment for their employees."
Roberta
Steedman, Pilkington’s internal communications manager, said in an
email that the company immediately corrected some of the safety issues
cited in the July 27 safety order. She wrote that Pilkington "continues
to work cooperatively and proactively with (its) employees and with
IOSHA to address the remaining citations."
IOSHA began its first
investigation of the plant after a Pilkington maintenance worker,
56-year-old Kelly Dean Caudill of Connersville, died the same day he was
injured at the plant in September 2010.
Caudill, who worked 19
years in electrical maintenance at Pilkington, was repairing a conveyor
that moves broken glass when a nearby air cylinder activated and crushed
him under thousands of pounds of pressure.
Rescuers removed Caudill from the machinery, but he died later that day at a
hospital.
Following Caudill’s death, IOSAH fined Pilkington $15,000 for several workplace
safety violations.
During
this spring’s follow-up inspection at Pilkington, IOSHA found the
company had the same issues as in 2010, the agency reported. The agency
increased each fine this time from the $5,000 imposed for each instance
in 2010 to $25,000.
IOSHA records allege the factory still lacked
proper guards for machinery to prevent worker injury and that certain
safety procedures and training plans were still inadequate. The records
show managers were still failing to properly audit or review employees’
knowledge of equipment that disables or locks machinery during repairs
and warning labels required for equipment controls during such repairs.
Inspectors also found that damage to equipment was, as before, exposing workers to
electricity currents of 50 volts or more.
The
state gave the company until Aug. 22 to address all the issues and pay
the fines, contest the orders, or schedule an informal review.
Steedman,
Pilkington’s spokeswoman, said in her email that the company intends to
sit down with IOSHA officials and "will evaluate every issue raised by
the IOSHA inspectors to determine if there is an opportunity for
improvement."
Department of Labor spokeswoman Chetrice Mosely said
Pilkington has scheduled an informal review with IOSHA where the
company can discuss details of the safety order while presenting its
case.
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Information from: Indianapolis Business Journal, http://www.ibj.com
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.