Hawaii Stevedores
fined for violations

By Lori Tighe
Star-Bulletin

A Honolulu shiploading company at which an employee was killed last week has a record of 40 safety violations, and federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials are "real concerned."

OSHA fined Hawaii Stevedores $135,000 yesterday for dangerous conditions surrounding a December accident when an employee fell 32 feet onto the deck of a ship. The man didn't have on the required fall protection gear, OSHA said.

"He's lucky to be alive," said Alan Traenkner, director of enforcement and investigations for OSHA in San Francisco. "When people fall 32 feet we're normally investigating fatalities."

Hawaii Stevedores, which loads and unloads ship cargo, is not operating to the same degree of safety as stevedores in California, Traenkner said.

"They're well aware of the standards and the hazards, and they didn't do anything to correct it," he said.

"We're real concerned about this company. We'll get their attention with that penalty. Our penalties can get higher quickly, in the millions, if a company ignores the citations."

Another Hawaii Stevedores employee, Edgar Fernandez, backed a forklift off a Barbers Point pier that had no guardrail May 25, OSHA said. Since his death, two concrete barriers were placed at the pier's end.

"It means there's obviously something wrong immediately," Traenkner said. "A worker can easily drive off the pier if there's no rail."

The OSHA investigation continues into the Fernandez accident.

"We want his death to bring safety back to the harbor," said Fernandez's sister, Zena-Mae Fernandez.

"My brother saw death on the docks. My uncle, a former stevedore for 30 years, saw death on the docks. Those deaths are so unnecessary," she said. "I'm really very upset -- nothing prevented him from going over the pier."

Hawaii Stevedores management refused to comment on Fernandez's death and the OSHA fine, referring all comments to their attorney, Ken Hipp. The company has 15 working days to contest the citations.

"We will vigorously contest the citations and we do dispute the citations both on the facts and on the law," Hipp said.

Hawaii Stevedores has been cited for 40 violations since 1990, including "willful" citations when an employer knew a hazardous condition existed and did nothing to correct it, OSHA said.

"Regarding the '40 violations,' we haven't reviewed our records to confirm that number," Hipp said. "However, many of them were dropped or mitigated. Just because they cited the company doesn't mean a violation was found."

The December accident happened to two stevedores aboard a ship at Pier 1b working on top of shipping containers stacked four high. They guided a container-lifting device, which rotated unexpectedly and pushed the men off. One jumped to a nearby container top, while the other fell 32 feet onto the deck.

The worker, Ron Saffery, 54, broke numerous bones in his body and suffered a compressed spine. He was bedridden for two months. He can walk now, but not far, he said.