Monday, February 24, 2014

Workers find body at aluminium plant.... (UPDATED)


Every incident no matter how unusual or unique can be used as a learning experience that can benefit your plant. After first reading the following incident the Aluminium Plant Safety Blog was at a loss for what learning experience be taken. After rereading the incident a second time the importance of being able to accurately track all personnel that enter and exit your facility stood out in this story. Here is the story.

Authorities are investigating the discovery of a body at an aluminum plant in the Midwest United States.

The Local County Sheriff says the body was found Monday one morning during the week of February 16, 2014 in the power plant of the aluminium company. He says the body was discovered by workers at a coal-unloading facility.

An company spokesman says all of its workers are accounted for.  Sheriff’s deputies are checking coal mines, docks and barges to see if any of their workers are missing. An autopsy was scheduled for later in the week.

UPDATE: A few days later the news media reported.

Authorities say a man found dead at an aluminum plant in the Midwest United States was from a town 222 kilometers away.

Local County Sheriff says investigators have identified the dead man. His body was found Monday morning in the coal-handling system of the power plant at aluminum plant in the Midwest United States.

Local County Sheriff said investigators believe foul play could be involved because the victims injuries aren't consistent with an accident, but didn't release specifics.

The APSB offers our condolences to the deceased's family and friends. One can only imagine the feeling of finding a body in their work place. One hopes that the aluminium worker(s) who located the body are offered counseling.

Does your plant have the procedures to track who enters and leaves your facility? Including employees, contractors, temporary workers, vendors, delivery men, truck drivers, etc. If not, you must ask how can your current system be improved to accurately track everyone who enters and exits your facility. 


Update:

The local County Sheriff confirms that the death of man whose body was found is now a homicide investigation.  

Officials suspect that the body of was brought into the facility with a load of coal on a rail car or coal truck.

The coal comes into (the aluminium plant) from various sites.

No word yet on how the victim was killed. (later reports list gunshot wound to the head) An autopsy was performed. Authorities say the victim was identified through fingerprints after his body was found, but they do not believe he was killed on the property.

Sheriff says the aluminium plant is not at all involved in the incident, other than the fact that the body was found there. 

During the course of this investigation, officials have been retracing the victims whereabouts in the past several weeks. Local news media has learned that the victim was recently released from a county jail in Indiana.

The APSB wishes that the individual(s) who killed the victim are brought to justice and convicted of their crimes.

Please Comment.

3 comments:

  1. Take away: have a workplace violence policy and have supervisors be alert for, and report, interpersonal issues that could spiral out of control.

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  2. This is an interesting take on personnel management. Thanks for sharing

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  3. This does not seem to have anything to do with workplace violence in the usual sense. Controlling access through the front gate may not have solved the problem, either. It seems to be about securing the perimeter of the plant. Does this incident remind anyone else of the scene at the end of the UK movie "Get Carter", which starred Michael Caine?

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