Deceased Plant Worker Was Trapped in Machinery, According to Local Reports, Fire Department
October 4, 2010

A plant employee who passed away last week after an injury at a Shelbyville, Ind., auto glass plant, had been trapped in a piece of hydraulic machinery, according to local reports. Kelly Caudill had been performing maintenance on the machine when the incident occurred, according to Pilkington spokesperson Roberta Steedman.

Shelbyville Fire Department deputy chief Tony Logan, whose team went to the plant to assist in rescuing Caudill, declined to provide further details to glassBYTEs.com™/AGRR magazine.

The incident currently is being investigated, according to both Steedman and local officials.

"Generally speaking, each investigation is different," says Indiana Department of Labor communications director Marc Lotter. "What we will do is determine the circumstances leading up to the accident. Then we will determine if any workplace safety regulations or laws were violated in terms of that accident. That can include mechanical but also training, and if there are any violations of safety regulations or laws then … citations or fines would be imposed."

Lotter says normally such investigations don't impact a company's ability to function.

"Once we get through the initial on-scene investigation, which is done in conjunction with the timing of the accident, in most cases work can continue unless for some reason the inspectors were to see that they needed to shut down the operation," he told glassBYTEs.com/AGRR magazine.

According to information from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Pilkington's facility in Shelbyville was cited with five violations this August, which were found during an inspection that took place as the result of a complaint. (The agency does not specify who made the complaint.)

Violations are not specified in the OSHA report, but they involved items such as guarding floor and wall openings and holes, handling materials, powered industrial trucks, and hand and portable powered tools and equipment. The company initially was fined a total $5,850.

At press time, Steedman had not responded to requests for comment about the OSHA violations.

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