Safety: Job No. 1?

JC manufacturers cite programs for limited number of safety violations over past decade

Collin Krabbe/News Tribune
Gabriella Weilert prepares to put a stack of booklets into a shrink wrapping machine at Modern Litho on Wednesday in Jefferson City. The company's Director of Safety, Andrew Millard, said that making sure employees understand safety procedures is a constant concern.
Collin Krabbe/News Tribune Gabriella Weilert prepares to put a stack of booklets into a shrink wrapping machine at Modern Litho on Wednesday in Jefferson City. The company's Director of Safety, Andrew Millard, said that making sure employees understand safety procedures is a constant concern.

At Modern Litho's factory at 6009 Stertzer Road in Jefferson City, danger lurks everywhere.

In one wing of the printing facility, books slide down a line toward a machine that cuts them, possibly exposing employees to the gears turning the massive machine. In another area, razor blades slice the ends off books or anything else that intrudes upon their path.

Despite the potential of danger, most employees go home unharmed thanks to basic safety procedures companies like Modern Litho must follow.

"We've gone three years without a lost work day, which is something we're very proud of," Modern Litho safety officer Andrew Millard said.

Over the past 10 years, the 10 largest manufacturers in Jefferson City racked up just a handful of safety violations, according to a News Tribune analysis. Businesses like Modern Litho said the key to keeping employees safe is to follow basic safety guidelines issued by the regulators.

The News Tribune reviewed inspection reports for Jefferson City's current 10 largest manufacturers over the last 10 years. The reports were provided by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which regulates working conditions nationwide.

During that 10-year period, two companies had four or more violations at their Jefferson City locations. Four companies had three or fewer violations. Three had records that were inaccessible.

ABB: Between Jan. 1, 2009, and May 2, 2017, OSHA inspectors visited the ABB factory at 500 W. Missouri 94 at least seven times. During that time, regulators cited the company for four serious violations and three other-than-serious violations. In all, the agency fined ABB $26,239 during that time. Eventually, OSHA reduced all citations to a total of $17,528.

ABB, which makes electric transformers, employed 770 people at the factory, making it the second-largest manufacturer in Jefferson City, according to a 2015 study by the Jefferson City Area Chamber of Commerce.

In one incident April 28, 2017, which OSHA did not fine the company for, an employee dislocated a finger on his right hand when his gloved hand got caught while running an operating milling machine. The worker was hospitalized, according to the OSHA report.

ABB representatives did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

CCP: Continental Commercial Products makes consumer storage products including plastic totes, cabinets and shelves at its factory at 321 Wilson Drive.

CCP moved its factory to Jefferson City in April 2015. Between then and March of this year, OSHA regulators cited CCP for five serious violations, though one later was eliminated.

During an inspection Jan. 19, 2017, the agency fined CCP $21,729 after inspectors found CCP had not developed proper lock-out procedures for machines in the injection molding area of the factory.

Lock-out procedures disable machines from operating or starting unexpectedly and protect employees during maintenance or repairs.

"As a result, employees are exposed to serious injuries in the event of an unexpected start-up movement," an OSHA report from the inspection said.

During an inspection on June 7, 2016, OSHA fined CCP $5,000 after finding employees may be exposed to greater than acceptable levels of noise. Regulators also found similar noise violations during an inspection on Dec. 2, 2015.

Brian Nichols, vice president and chief business officer of CCP's parent company American Plastics, did not respond to requests for comment.

ALPLA: Plastics manufacturer ALPLA had three serious violations during a 2015 inspection, for which it was fined $3,150. ALPLA spokesman Mark Dunning declined to comment before the News Tribune's deadline.

PORITE JEFFERSON CORPORATION: Porite Jefferson Corporation, a division of Taiwanese motor-vehicle manufacturer Porite, had serious violations in its Jefferson City factory during inspections in 2015 and 2017, for which it was fined $500 and $6,211, respectively. A manager at Porite did not return a call seeking comment.

COMMAND WEB: During a 2010 inspection, OSHA fined Command Web $1,688 for three serious violations. In 2013, OSHA found no violations during a planned inspection of Command Web's factory. Command Web General Manager Chris Huckleberry did not recall the last time OSHA cited the company, but said the agency tries to help businesses make workplaces safer.

"OSHA is different than it used to be," Huckleberry said. "It tries to be very consultative."

MODERN LITHO: OSHA found no violations during planned inspections of Modern Litho's printing plant in 2012 and 2015.

MODINE MANUFACTURING: OSHA cited Modine for one serious violation in 2016. An initial fine of $5,345 later was reduced to $3,742. Everett Benson, human resources manager at Modine, attributed the citation to a minor problem with a grinder base.

UNILEVER: No records were located in OSHA's database. Representatives from Unilever did not return requests for comment.

AXIUM PLASTICS: No records were located in OSHA's database. A local Axium Plastics manager declined to comment.

SCHOLASTIC: No records were located in OSHA's database. A spokeswoman for Scholastic confirmed the company has a clean safety record during that time frame.

Minimizing risks

Missouri companies reported 52,700 non-fatal workplace injuries in 2016, according to a survey from the Missouri Department of Labor. Of those cases, workers lost time in 12,450 instances because of workplace injuries or illnesses.

In goods-producing industries like manufacturing, construction and natural resource work, 3,750 workers lost time due to non-fatal injuries in 2016. Workers in these industries lost a median of 14 days away from work, according to the Department of Labor.

Huckleberry said workplace injuries will happen, but he wants to minimize severe injuries.

At Command Web, a printing company at 7100 One Color Way, Huckleberry said minor paper cuts to fingers are common. Cuts from razor blades are less common but happen occasionally. Employees at Command Web try to prevent these as much as possible.

"You're going to have three to four of those (razor blade cuts) per year," Huckleberry said. "If you have three to four per week, you've got a problem."

Jobs at Command Web can be hazardous. Things move at a fast pace on the factory floor as books get made and pushed in carts.

"Injuries are caused by people circumventing safety rules," Huckleberry said. "In most cases, they knew the rules."

At Modern Litho, Millard said, paper cuts, muscle strains and even cuts from box cutters happen fairly often. But machinery today is built to prevent serious injuries, he said.

Thick plastic covers on most areas of machinery guard workers from spinning gears. A laser prevents exposed razor blades from being lowered if an object intrudes in the laser's path. Workers also must place their thumbs on buttons outside the blades' path to lower the razors on the machines.

On some models of the machines, workers use pallet jacks to load stacks of paper into and off of machines, reducing wear and tear on employees' bodies.

Like Command Web and Modern Litho, Modine Manufacturing encourages employees to report problems if they see them at the plant, which makes radiators for large machinery.

Benson said communication plays a large role in preventing accidents.

A light near the entrance to the floor is illuminated green during times without accidents. The light is yellow when an accident happens but does not warrant being reported to regulators. When accidents must be reported, the light turns red.

Whenever a workplace accident happens, supervisors inform employees of what happened, Benson said.

"It's everybody working together to generate a positive, safe environment," he said.

Huckleberry guessed it's been at least 10 years since someone sliced off part of a finger at Command Web.

"We've got a very good track record," Huckleberry said. "We're very fortunate."

Millard also takes pride in Modern Litho's efforts to provide a safe atmosphere for employees.

"It's a testament to experienced workers," Millard said. "If you have an experienced worker, that goes a long way."

Like Millard and Benson, Huckleberry takes pride in his company's safety record over the past decade. While working in a fast factory environment, though, ultimately some responsibility lies on employees, he said.

"People have to be responsible for their own safety to some extent," Huckleberry said. "We have to provide training to help people understand what to do, but they have to pay attention."