Plum Creek reviews safety procedures
Several recent accidents at Plum Creek Timber Co.'s plywood plant in Columbia Falls prompted management to temporarily shut down the facility while they reviewed safety procedures. The plant shut down on Aug. 15 and restarted Aug. 17.
Two accidents involving forklifts occurred on Aug. 11 and 12. According to sources, an unsecured load on a forklift injured a worker's fingers in the first incident.
Plum Creek spokesperson Kathy Budinick, in Seattle, said the review of safety procedures by management was not unusual.
Tom Ray, vice president of the company's Northwest Resources and Manufacturing, said the company had considered briefly shutting down the plywood plant because of market conditions, but the recent accidents "prompted us to take this time to review safety procedures to ensure the continued safety of our people."
Christine Webb, the area director for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in Billings, said their office learned about the accidents from the media but had not initiated an investigation. She said that by law, workplace accidents that must be reported include those with fatalities or when three or more workers are hospitalized.
Workers at Plum Creek's Columbia Falls manufacturing plants have suffered serious injuries over the years. According to local sources, a woman's fingers were cut off at the plywood plant earlier this summer.
On Nov. 8, 2010, a man sweeping underneath equipment at the plywood plant was hit in the leg by a log that fell off a conveyor. The man was transported to the hospital, and several local sources said the man lost his leg.
OSHA investigated the accident and initially fined Plum Creek $7,000. According to the agency's online citation database, an informal settlement was reached March 23, and the company was fined $4,900.
In a much more serious accident, a millwright not directly employed by Plum Creek was killed at the company's medium-density fiberboard plant in Columbia Falls on July 11, 2002.
David Hoerauf, 50, of Kalispell, was repairing a conveyor when the equipment was energized, sending him into the machinery. He was killed instantly by head trauma, according to a preliminary coroner's report.
OSHA issued 12 citations against Plum Creek after Hoerauf's death and fined the company $169,000. Former OSHA area director David DiTommaso said the "accident and unsafe conditions discovered during the inspection could have been avoided by adherence to recognized safe work practices and OSHA regulations."
Plum Creek appealed the citations, but Hoerauf's widow sued the company. Because Hoerauf was hired by Workplace Inc. and not Plum Creek, the lawsuit was not limited by Montana law to workers compensation benefits.
Plum Creek settled with the federal government in January 2004, and OSHA agreed to withdraw three citations and reduce the fine to $129,000. A confidential out-of-court settlement between Plum Creek and Hoerauf's widow was approved Jan. 13, 2005.