IBJNews

Shelbyville factory in trouble again, faces record IOSHA fines

Back to TopCommentsE-mailPrint

The Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Wednesday it has issued a record fine after an inspection at a Shelbyville glass factory.

Pilkington North America faces $453,000 in proposed penalties after state inspectors detected 29 safety violations at the plant, according to agency documents.

The next-largest set of fines IOSHA has on record was $332,250 that BP paid in a 2006 settlement for violations at its oil refinery in Whiting, said Bob Dittmer, a spokesman for the Indiana Department of Labor, which includes IOSHA.

Pilkington’s 350-employee Shelbyville factory produces glass for automakers such as Toyota, Honda, Mitsubishi, Nissan and General Motors. Toledo, Ohio-based Pilkington North America is a subsidiary of NSG Group, which has its headquarters in Tokyo.

The safety allegations, which IOSHA issued to the company Monday, follow $150,000 in fines that IOSHA charged the company in July for six “repeat” violations. Those fines stemmed from a follow-up investigation after the company received $32,000 in fines—later reduced to $15,000—in November 2010 after a worker died on the job.

An Aug. 18 IBJ story detailed Pilkington's struggles to address IOSHA's safety concerns.

The catalyst for the safety inspections was the September 2010 death of 59-year-old maintenance technician Kelly Dean Caudill of Connersville.

Caudill, who worked at Pilkington for 19 years, was repairing a conveyor that moves broken glass that another company recycles and resells. A nearby air cylinder activated and crushed Caudill. He later died at a hospital.

The initial, post-accident investigation and the follow-up earlier this year targeted specific issues at the plant.

IOSHA returned to the plant most recently because employees complained of ongoing facility-wide safety problems, Dittmer said.

This time, the agency was more thorough as staff conducted a “comprehensive” inspection, also known as a “wall-to-wall.”

“We inspected everything, overturned ever single rock we could lay our hands on,” he said.

In the report, violations ranged from missing warning signs to knowingly exposing workers to dangerous machinery without proper safety guards, IOSHA records state.

Pilkington spokeswoman Roberta Steedman wrote in an e-mail that the company has corrected some of the issues while it is evaluating others to determine how to address concerns.

Pilkington has filed paperwork saying it intends to appeal the July safety orders.

The company said it intends to keep informally meeting with IOSHA to discuss the citations.

“However, there is a short window for completing informal settlements, and complicated matters often require additional time,” Steedman wrote.

Pilkington notified IOSHA it would contest the safety orders to “preserve [its] rights and continue discussions and negotiations with IOSHA aimed at resolving this matter, while doing everything possible to ensure the safety of [its] people.”

The case is set to go before an administrative law judge, who will rule whether the company must comply with IOSHA’s orders and pay the fine if there is no settlement.

Pilkington has until Sept. 14 to correct the newest safety orders and pay the penalty or contest the violations. The company can also set up an informal meeting to review the report’s details and set up a timetable to address IOSHA’s concerns.

If the auto supplier chooses to appeal the most recent violations, as well, the judge could decide whether to combine the two cases into one.

ADVERTISEMENT

  • @David
    You expect people to quit a job theyve had for 10-15years, losing seniority and pay raises, if the working conditions have become dangerous? No employee complaint started this process; someone died. The government protects consumers as well. Obviously, you're ignorant(not an insult, you're just uninformed)
  • Really?
    Did you miss this sentence? "The catalyst for the safety inspections was the September 2010 death of 59-year-old maintenance technician Kelly Dean Caudill of Connersville."
  • Leave government out
    This is what is wrong with our country. If people don't like the working conditions, then get another job. Don't complain to the government, which shouldn't be sticking their noses into Pilkington anyway.

    Post a comment to this story

    COMMENTS POLICY
    We reserve the right to remove any post that we feel is obscene, profane, vulgar, racist, sexually explicit, abusive, or hateful.
     
    You are legally responsible for what you post and your anonymity is not guaranteed.
     
    Posts that insult, defame, threaten, harass or abuse other readers or people mentioned in IBJ editorial content are also subject to removal. Please respect the privacy of individuals and refrain from posting personal information.
     
    No solicitations, spamming or advertisements are allowed. Readers may post links to other informational websites that are relevant to the topic at hand, but please do not link to objectionable material.
     
    We may remove messages that are unrelated to the topic, encourage illegal activity, use all capital letters or are unreadable.
     

    Messages that are flagged by readers as objectionable will be reviewed and may or may not be removed. Please do not flag a post simply because you disagree with it.

    Sponsored by
    ADVERTISEMENT

    facebook - twitter on Facebook & Twitter

    Follow on TwitterFollow IBJ on Facebook:
    Follow on TwitterFollow IBJ's Tweets on these topics:
     
    Subscribe to IBJ
    1. The Fringe! Plus, the simple fact that there are so many local faves in such close proximity to each other.

    2. I remenber, watching the toll road, being built, through South Bend, when I was 10 years old. I believe, back then that it was estimated, that the toll road, would be paid for in 20 years and then it would be free. I am now 71, what happened? Since the power is in the people, by that, I mean that, we the people are in total control of everything. I, suggest that no one ever use the toll road again, let it go broke. We the people can control the price of everything, from groceries to gas, if we would just do it. If we don't pay the asking price, the sellers will lower the price and if we wait awhile, they will lower the price to what we accept as reasonable. I would like to know why a highway like interstate 94, is so well maintained, a much better highway, than the toll road, but has no tolls. I would also like to know why, a sitting governor, with a term limit, maximum of eight years, can lease, public property, for 75 years. Even though I have transponders in both of my trucks and will not be affected by the increase, I have been and will contine to avoid using the toll road. I make many trips from northern Indiana to Chicago, every year, and I prefer the better highway, I94!

    3. Coming from her background,she should be used to those kinds of advances! Menard probably figured it was ok to tuck a buck!

    4. I'm still waiting for the list of available, high quality apartments in the Village.

    5. This criminal masquerading as a lawyer obviously has serious issues. He’s been proven by his own testimony to be a pathological liar and probably has a personality disorder as he seems to be constructing a reality around himself. He places no value on truth, honesty or loyalty as evidenced by what he has done to his clients and his own family. And by the demands and lies he has made in court, it is evident he feels entitled to do and say whatever suits his purpose and everyone else is expected to nod obediently and believe him because he is, after all, Bill Super Lawyer; or BS lawyer for short. This millionaire wanna-be no longer owns anything of value; he squandered it and put everything he had into foreclosure. He has no money, house, car, boat or vacation home left to show for what he earned or what he stole. He’s just another loser without morals who will be doing time. I’m certain all of his courtroom shenanigans are antagonizing his poor victims. As Lamar said, his behavior and claims in court have been outrageous. The judge needs to be more than concerned; he needs to be judicial and end this nonsense.

    ADVERTISEMENT