Associations praise federal rollback of steel tariffs
Jobless claims increase in most recent week
Rockwell Automation elects new president and CEO
Federal funding cuts to stifle WMEP presence
Generac to hire 450 in southeastern Wisconsin
Productivity revised upward for third quarter
Survey: Preventative maintenance strategy expands uptime
Hughes Supply appoints MRO division executive
Improvement seen among manufacturers in third quarter
Planned job cuts fall dramatically in November
ABB to re-position motor ranges
W.J. Timken to retire from the Timken Company
ISM: Manufacturing surges to 20-year high in November
Four manufacturers receive Baldrige awards
Boeing chairman and CEO resigns
OSHA cites furniture maker for chemical exposure
Durable goods orders jump 3.3 percent in October

Associations praise federal rollback of steel tariffs
Several manufacturing associations released statements Dec. 4 applauding President Bush's decision to eliminate the Section 201 tariffs on imported steel.

Among the supporters of the president's decision were the Precision Metalforming Association (PMA), the Automotive Coalition on Steel Tariffs, and the Association of International Automobile Manufacturers Inc. (AIAM).

PMA president William E. Gaskin called President Bush's decision to end steel tariffs the correct decision for 13 million workers in steel-consuming industries, for the manufacturing sector that is just beginning to recover and for the overall U.S. economy.

“We applaud President Bush’s decision to terminate the steel tariffs," said Gaskin. "We’ve got a win-win situation. This is the best decision for U.S. manufacturers and the best decision for the president politically, as there are far more people whose jobs would be at risk if steel tariffs were continued until March 2005 than if they are ended now.”

Keeping the tariffs in place would have resulted in deteriorating relationships with U.S. trading partners, PMA stated. Based on the World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling that the 201 tariffs were illegal, the European Union, Japan and other trading partners were prepared to retaliate with more than $2.2 billion in tariffs on U.S. exports. If the president had not eliminated the tariffs, steel-consuming industries as well as numerous other industries would have been further penalized by retaliatory tariffs.

"American automotive parts manufacturers and our workers are very pleased by the president's decision," said Scott Meyer, president and chief operating officer of Ken-Tool and chairman of the Automotive Coalition on Steel Tariffs. "The tariffs created additional challenges to our industry's competitive stance and potential growth. The president's decision is going to help keep jobs and production in America and to help us effectively compete on the global playing field."

The AIAM also lauded the decision to remove the tariffs on imported steel.

AIAM president and CEO Timothy C. MacCarthy characterized the president's announcement as "a decision that is legally, politically and economically correct and one that will have an important, positive impact on the U.S. economy."

MacCarthy added: "While the temporary tariffs may have helped the steel industry adjust to new competitive conditions, they also have harmed steel consuming industries, including motor vehicles manufacturers and their suppliers by artificially constraining supply and contributing to higher domestic prices."

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Jobless claims increase in most recent week
New claims for unemployment insurance increased by 11,000 to 365,000 for the week ended Nov. 29, according to the Labor Department. The four-week moving average of jobless claims increased 3,000 to 362,500.

The four-week moving average is generally considered by economists to be the more reliable of the two because it smoothes out week-to-week volatility.

Both rates remained below 400,000, which is the level economists use to define a weak labor market and a stable one. This is the eighth consecutive week both levels have remained below 400,000.

Continuing claims for unemployment insurance increased 44,000 to 3.4 million for the week ended Nov. 22. Continuing claims are those older than two weeks.

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Rockwell Automation elects new president and CEO
Rockwell Automation Inc.'s board of directors elected Keith Nosbusch president and CEO, effective following the company’s annual shareowners meeting Feb. 4, 2004. 

Nosbusch, 52, succeeds Don H. Davis as Rockwell Automation CEO. Davis will continue his role as chairman of the board.

“Keith Nosbusch brings leadership, experience, an unmatched passion for excellence, and a demonstrated track record of success to this position,” said Davis. “In a nearly 30-year career at the company, Keith has demonstrated the type of creativity, vitality, management skills and global market knowledge that make him the ideal leader for Rockwell Automation. In the months to come, I will continue my close collaboration with Keith to ensure a seamless transition for all of our stakeholders.”

Nosbusch was a keynote speaker at the recent MRO Today "Lean Manufacturing University" conference in Madison, Wis.

“I am truly excited about the opportunity to lead this great company into what I am confident is a very bright future,” said Nosbusch. “Rockwell Automation has everything it takes – a talented management team, dedicated employees, technology leadership, financial strength and leading market positions – to continue to prosper in the global industrial automation market. With these strengths, Rockwell Automation is uniquely positioned to continue to create customer and shareowner value. I look forward to working with Don and benefiting from his ongoing counsel.”

Nosbusch began his career in 1974 when he joined Allen-Bradley as an application engineer and was promoted to increasingly responsible positions leading to his appointment as president of Rockwell Automation Control Systems in November 1998.

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Federal funding cuts to stifle WMEP presence
When Congress recently cut funding to the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) programs across the U.S. by 63 percent, state manufacturing extension partnerships knew they would feel the pinch.

As a result of the federal cuts, the Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership (WMEP) could see cuts of 25 percent in 2004. Each year, WMEP receives about $2.5 million in federal assistance, or 33 percent of its funding.

The U.S. Congress approved the funding cut for the MEP program as part of a massive Omnibus Appropriations Bill passed about two weeks ago. The bill reduced federal support for MEP from $106 million to $39.6 million.

In two of the last three years, the Bush administration recommended eliminating the MEP program, but federal support was revived.

This year, the program, which was set up to help small to medium-sized manufacturers improve manufacturing processes using lean methods and productivity-building technology, will face direct challenges.

With two-thirds of the federal spending cut, some MEP centers with go away, according to WMEP executive director Michael Klonsinski. Many other centers, WMEP included, won't go away, but will slash services and cut manufacturers-per-dollar-invested, one of the center's benchmarks for progress.

Klonsinski said WMEP will be forced to address higher-revenue-generating projects, which will lead the center away from its current mission. It will not be able to invest in other public-good projects, which do not generate much revenue but benefit whole groups of small manufacturers.

In one such recent project, WMEP helped several small manufacturers invest in technology resources that would improve business conditions and add value for customers. If WMEP needs to cut what it expects it will cut, the center will have to work with about half as many companies as it currently does.

"We'll need to restructure who we target, cut back on the number of manufacturers we serve and significantly cut back on public-good activities that benefit a set of manufacturers," Klonsinski said.

However, there is still hope that the Bush administration will see the value in the MEP program and reinstate its funding during the next budget year.

"There is a possibility," said Klonsinski. "Many people see the value. The argument is now philosophical rather than performance-based."

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Generac to hire 450 in southeastern Wisconsin
You might want to sit down for this. Generac Power Systems, a manufacturer of residential and industrial generators, will hire 450 workers by March 2004.

Not since 2000 has Wisconsin seen this kind of hiring. And in a manufacturing environment that has seen more than 2.5 million manufacturing jobs leave the U.S. over the past three years, this is cause for celebration.

At least, that's the case for potential workers in Waukesha, Wis.; Eagle, Wis.; and Whitewater, Wis.

"In general, manufacturers are optimistic that things are turning around," Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce vice president of government affairs James Buchner told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel newspaper. "But they are slow in adding new hires, unfortunately. I have not heard of anything like [Generac] since three years ago when the recession began in earnest."

Generac is prepared to hire machine operators, metal fabricators, welders and maintenance workers. Most of the work will go to the Whitewater plant in Jefferson County. Starting wages will be $9 an hour for assembly workers.

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Productivity revised upward for third quarter
Productivity was revised upward from 8.1 percent to 9.4 percent for the third quarter of 2003, according to the Labor Department. Productivity was 7 percent during the second quarter of 2003.

Productivity is measured by the amount of output per hour of work.

Productivity in the manufacturing sector also rose more rapidly than was reported on Nov. 6. It increased 9 percent in manufacturing in the third quarter of 2003, as output increased 3.5 percent and hours of all persons dropped 5 percent.

Hours of all persons in manufacturing have fallen for 13 consecutive quarters. In durable goods industries, productivity rose by 14.8 percent, reflecting an 8.1-percent rise in output and a decline of 5.9 percent in hours. Productivity grew much more slowly in the nondurable goods industries, 3.1 percent, as output fell 0.8 percent and hours fell more, 3.8 percent

The hourly compensation of all manufacturing workers rose 4.1 percent during the third quarter of 2003. In durable goods manufacturing, hourly compensation increased 3.5 percent, and in nondurable goods manufacturing, it grew 5.3 percent. When the increase in consumer prices is taken into account, real hourly compensation for all manufacturing workers rose 1.7 percent in the third quarter.

Unit labor costs in manufacturing fell 4.5 percent in the third quarter after rising 2.2 percent in the previous quarter. Unit labor costs dropped 9.9 percent in durable goods manufacturing in the third quarter, and they rose 2.1 percent in non-durable goods manufacturing.

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Survey: Preventative maintenance strategy expands uptime
Limited budgets and aging equipment are the most commonly cited barriers keeping maintenance and reliability departments from improving their total manufacturing uptime, according to the results of the 2003 Maintenance Performance Metrics Survey, a new study from Rockwell Automation and a national maintenance and engineering magazine.

The results of the study illustrate the perception that corporate management views maintenance activities as an expense rather than a strategy.

Conducted in August 2003, the survey asked 519 maintenance and plant manufacturing managers in North American industrial companies to indicate the business metrics they use today to measure uptime performance and the ways in which they apply those measures to maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) activities.

The survey indicates that while manufacturers measure corporate performance through production uptime and return-on-investment metrics, they do not apply the same metrics at the maintenance department level.

Maintenance managers believe that corporate officers most often use factors such as meeting production goals, uptime and return-on-investment (ROI) to measure MRO activities. More than half (58 percent) of respondents say uptime is a key metric and more than three-fourths (78 percent) note that meeting production goals is a primary tool to measure manufacturing performance.

“These results illustrate that, as corporate officers deal with tightened budgets and a reduced workforce, their first course of action may be to restrict or cut resources dedicated to maintenance solutions,” said Rockwell Automation vice president of asset management Mike Laszkiewicz. “The results also show that significant improvements can be made to a manufacturing process through strategic maintenance programs. Performance should be measured on the effect maintenance activities have on the operation as a whole, rather than solely on budget.”

Survey participants noted that decreased expenses and improved production uptime are top company-wide priorities for the coming year, yet 79 percent said one of the largest barriers to improving uptime is budget limitations. Respondents noted that even a minimal (one-third) increase in budget would help meet corporate goals for uptime.

Additional highlights of the 2003 Maintenance Performance Metrics Survey include the following.

• While respondents view improving uptime and meeting uptime goals as priorities, more than half of the respondents’ organizations do not meet uptime goals of 90 percent of higher. A small percentage of respondents didn’t know their uptime metrics for the past six months or their organization’s goals.

 • Strategies most often used to maintain uptime, in order of preference, include: scheduled maintenance, routine maintenance, spare part inventory, training, reactive maintenance and predictive maintenance.

 • Most participants believe that equipment reliability and equipment availability have a major effect on improving uptime. Three-fourths of respondents said a knowledgeable and skilled staff also can have a major effect on improving uptime.

•  Most respondents said they’d like to spend less time on reactive maintenance and more on preventive maintenance. One-fifth of the respondents are spending time on predictive or planned maintenance.

 • Eighty percent of participants said they generally rely on outsourced repair services on an as-needed basis, primarily due to limited staffing (73 percent) and limited skills/experience (59 percent).

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Hughes Supply appoints MRO division executive
Hughes Supply Inc. named Thomas J. Starnes to lead its maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) division.

Starnes' appointment to this newly created position comes after Hughes' announcement on Nov. 26 of its pending acquisition of Century Maintenance Supply Inc. 

Starnes joined Hughes in July 2001 and since then served as senior vice president of sales and marketing. In his new role, he will be responsible for the operations of the combined Hughes and Century MRO business, which is expected to have revenues approaching $500 million in the next fiscal year, as well as government and healthcare customer programs. He will report to Gradie Winstead, group president.

"Tom has the ideal qualifications to lead our MRO business. His skill set, along with his experience in catalog development and in cultivating strategic alliances, will assist us in maximizing the growth and profitability of the marketing-driven MRO business," said Hughes Supply president and CEO Tom Morgan.

Starnes' sales and marketing responsibilities at Hughes have included brand management, sales promotion (including catalog development), marketing and corporate communications, and overall strategic planning, as well as management of the government and healthcare initiatives. 

For more than a year, Starnes has had responsibility for MRO sales and marketing at Hughes. Prior to joining the company, he served as chief marketing officer for Value America and senior vice president of sales and marketing at U.S. Office Products.

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Improvement seen among manufacturers in third quarter
After a long stretch of anemic performance, U.S. manufacturing business activity showed dramatic improvement from the second quarter to third quarter 2003, according to the quarterly Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI Analysis of Selected Industrial Indicators, a report that analyzes 28 major industries.

Third quarter 2003 figures show that 19 of the 28 industries tracked in the report had inflation-adjusted new orders or production above the level of one year ago, up significantly from 11 industries in second quarter 2003 and 14 industries in first quarter 2003.

“There was a definite turning point that hopefully signals an end to the long and painful manufacturing recession,” said Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI chief economist and author of the analysis Daniel J. Meckstroth. “The rebound in order activity coupled with low inventories, favorable credit conditions, and rising profitability should set in motion a sustained rebound.”

The report also examines trends in manufacturing capacity utilization in the high-tech sector and in the rest of manufacturing.

High-tech manufacturing plant utilization rose sharply in 2000 as demand outstripped the growth in capacity, peaking in May 2000 at around 93 percent before plummeting to only 61 percent in May 2002. The bursting of the information technology bubble and the double-dip U.S. manufacturing recession caused the utilization rate to hover around 62 percent until June 2003. Only in the last four months has the high-tech capacity utilization rate increased. It stood at 66 percent in October 2003.

Capacity utilization in manufacturing industries, excluding the high-tech sector, has been less volatile. Capacity utilization peaked at 84 percent in 1995 and stood at 83 percent in January 1998 before falling to 73.8 percent in May 2003. The latest reading was 74.5 percent in October 2003.

For the first time since the statistics were produced in 1967, however, manufacturing industries (excluding high-tech) have cut capacity in an economic downturn. Manufacturers reduced factory capacity by 0.2 percent in 2002 and again by another 0.2 percent in 2003. The reduction in capacity occurred at a time when total manufacturing productivity increased little more 5 percent in 2002 and 2003.

“The strong productivity growth amid a small decline in capacity implies a rather large reduction in physical facilities in the last couple of years,” Meckstroth said. “A prolonged production slump, intense price competition, globalization and outsourcing offshore have taken a toll on the number and size of manufacturing plants.”

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The November figure was 37 percent lower than the 157,508 job cuts announced by employers in the same month a year ago, according to the monthly job-cut report released by international outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.

So far this year, employers have announced 1.1 million job cuts, 17 percent fewer than the 11-month total of 1.4 million in 2002.

November job cuts reached 8,258 in the industrial goods sector, 3,058 in the automotive sector, 1,433 in the aerospace/defense sector, and 9,794 in the electronics sector.

"One set of economists is saying that a job boom is just over the horizon and another is forecasting that unemployment will average 6.4 percent in 2004," said John A. Challenger, CEO of Challenger, Gray & Christmas. "The disparity among various economic reports is just as vexing."

Challenger predicts that much of the job creation during this economic cycle will not take place in the U.S., but in places like China, India and the Philippines, beneficiaries of our outsourcing and a surging global economy.

"We will probably not see a true job market boom until the next economic cycle around 2008. Any job market rebound that takes place in the near future will be relatively small and occur in the lower paying industries and occupations," Challenger said.

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ABB to re-position motor ranges
ABB realigned its standard low voltage AC motor range into two main groups, general purpose motors and process performance motors, to help users select the correct motors for their applications.

"The intention is to re-position our motor offer to enable customers, whether OEMs, end-users or distributors, to quickly and easily select the best motor for an application," said ABB vice president of motor marketing Sven Sjöberg. "The new descriptive product names reflect the two main segments of the market and will help guide users through our motor range, which is very large."

ABB's process performance motor is engineered to meet the most demanding applications found in process industries such as chemical, oil and gas, pulp and paper, water treatment, food and beverage, metals, and building materials. These motors use the best materials and construction methods to achieve the highest quality and reliability, and a possible operating life of more than 30 years. The motor design is highly adaptable to allow rapid customization. The motors meet the EFF1 energy efficiency classification.

ABB's general purpose motors are designed for standard OEM applications and are readily available from central stock locations and distributors around the world. The motors have high build quality, are available with all the features needed by the OEM market and can be modified to meet most specifications. The motors meet the EFF2 energy efficiency classification, with EFF1 available as an option.

"Dividing our motor range into two main segments based on the intended usage will make more sense for the end-user," said Sjöberg. "This will give a starting point from which he can move on and refine his specification."

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W.J. Timken to retire from the Timken Company
The Timken Company announced the retirement of vice president and officer W.J. Timken after 35 years of service. He will remain a member of the board of directors of the company, where he has served since 1971.

Deb L. Miller joined the company as senior vice president of communications and community affairs and an officer of the company. In addition to leading the corporate and marketing communications functions, she will assume Jack's role in community affairs. Miller will report to Glenn A. Eisenberg, executive vice president of finance and administration.

"Jack has been my strong partner as we have moved the company forward over the years," said chairman W.R. Timken Jr. "From his work in human resource development to his management of community affairs, he has enhanced our company's commitment to respect for individual dignity and the well-being of our associates. He will be remembered and missed by Timken associates around the world. Fortunately, as a board member and the president of the Timken Foundation, he will continue to be involved in both the company and the communities in which we operate." 

The Timken Foundation is a private, family foundation, unaffiliated with The Timken Company.

Jack Timken began his career with Timken in 1968 in the company's steel operations. He went on to serve as director of corporate development and director of human resources before his election to vice president in 1992.

Miller was previously vice president of corporate communications at Armstrong World Industries, where she also served as president of the Armstrong Foundation. Prior to that, she worked at Cummins Engine Company where she held roles in international marketing and investor relations before leading the corporate marketing and communications function.

"Deb is an accomplished leader with great vision and energy," said Eisenberg. "Her global experience in both communications and community affairs is a valuable addition to our leadership team, particularly as we serve the larger number of customers, shareholders and plant communities that joined us as a result of our recent acquisition."

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ISM: Manufacturing surges to 20-year high in November
Economic activity in the manufacturing sector grew in November for the fifth consecutive month, while the overall economy grew for the 25th consecutive month, according to the latest Manufacturing Report On Business from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM).

"The manufacturing sector enjoyed its best month since December 1983," said ISM Manufacturing Business Survey Committee chair Norbert J. Ore. "The big improvement is in employment as the index rose above 50 percent, indicating growth, following 37 consecutive months of decline. The momentum is coming from continued strength in new orders and production as the indexes are presently at very lofty levels."

The PMI (purchasing managers index) indicated that the manufacturing economy grew in November for the fifth consecutive month. The PMI for November registered 62.8 percent, an increase of 5.8 percentage points compared to the October reading of 57 percent.

A reading above 50 percent indicates that the manufacturing economy is generally expanding; below 50 percent indicates that it is generally contracting.

A PMI in excess of 42.9 percent, over a period of time, generally indicates an expansion of the overall economy. The November PMI indicates that both the overall economy and the manufacturing sector are growing.

The past relationship between the PMI and the overall economy indicates that the average PMI for January through November (52.3 percent) corresponds to a 3.4 percent increase in real gross domestic product (GDP). However, if the PMI for November (62.8 percent) is annualized, this corresponds to a 7.3 percent increase in GDP.

"Based on this data, it appears that the recovery is gaining momentum," said Ore. "Indications are that the manufacturing sector is ending 2003 on a very positive note, and all of the indexes support continued strength into 2004. While there are still companies lagging the recovery, they should be encouraged by the current indicators in the sector."

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Four manufacturers receive Baldrige awards
President George W. Bush and Commerce Secretary Donald L. Evans honored seven organizations with the 2003 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation’s highest honor for quality and performance excellence. The seven recipients included four manufacturers.

This is the most Baldrige Award recipients since the program started in 1988 and the first time that recipients were named in all five Baldrige Award categories.

The 2003 Baldrige Award recipients are:
• Medrad Inc., Indianola, Pa. (manufacturing);
• Boeing Aerospace Support, St. Louis, Mo. (service) (Boeing Airlift and Tanker Programs, Long Beach, Calif., received the Baldrige Award in 1998 in the manufacturing category);
• Caterpillar Financial Services Corp., Nashville, Tenn. (service);
• Stoner Inc., Quarryville, Pa. (small business);
• Community Consolidated School District 15, Palatine, Ill. (education);
• Baptist Hospital Inc., Pensacola, Fla. (health care); and
• Saint Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City, Kansas City, Mo. (health care).

“I am pleased to join President Bush in congratulating this year’s recipients of the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award,” said Evans. “They represent America’s best and are setting a high standard for corporate and social responsibility. Their dynamic, principled leadership has built our economy into the world’s largest engine of progress and prosperity.”

The 2003 Baldrige Award recipients were selected from among 68 applicants. All seven were evaluated rigorously by an independent board of examiners in seven areas: leadership, strategic planning, customer and market focus, information and analysis, human resource focus, process management, and results. The evaluation process included about 1,000 hours of review and an on-site visit by teams of examiners to clarify questions and verify information in the applications.

“This recognition is so meaningful to the recipients because they know the evaluation for the Baldrige Award was objective and scrupulous in identifying performance excellence. Every step of the process is structured to apply the knowledge and expertise of the board of examiners in ensuring that only the most outstanding applicants are recognized,” said Harry Reedy, chair of the Baldrige Award panel of judges and vice president and director of quality for State Street Corporation.

The 2003 Baldrige Award recipients are expected to be presented with the Baldrige Award in a ceremony in Washington, D.C., early next year.

Named after the 26th Secretary of Commerce, the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award was established by Congress in 1987 to enhance the competitiveness of U.S. businesses.

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Boeing chairman and CEO resigns
Boeing Co. chairman and CEO Phil Condit resigned Dec. 1, according to a company press release.

After thorough deliberations, the company's board of directors decided a new structure for the company leadership was needed and named Lewis E. Platt non-executive chairman and Harry C. Stonecipher as president and CEO, effective immediately.

Stonecipher retired from Boeing in 2002 after working closely with Condit for five years in several roles, including vice chairman, president and chief operating officer. Stonecipher also served as a Boeing director for six years.

Platt has been a member of Boeing’s board of directors for four years; he is a retired chairman of the board, president and CEO of Hewlett-Packard Company.

"Boeing is advancing on several of the most important programs in its history and I offered my resignation as a way to put the distractions and controversies of the past year behind us, and to place the focus on our performance," Condit said. "I am proud of the strategies that have transformed Boeing into the world’s largest aerospace company, and I have the highest regard and respect for Lew and Harry. They each possess the knowledge, experience and leadership to take this company to the next level. I will watch the progress of Boeing with great pride."

Last week, Boeing fired chief financial officer Michael Sears for violating company policies by communicating directly and indirectly with U.S. Air Force official Darleen Druyun about future employment when she had not disqualified herself from acting in her official government capacity on matters involving Boeing. In addition, an internally initiated review found both attempted to conceal their misconduct.

“Compelling evidence of this misconduct by Mr. Sears and Ms. Druyun came to light over the last two weeks,” said Condit. “Upon review of the facts, our board of directors determined that immediate dismissal of both individuals for cause was the appropriate course of action.”

"The board appreciates that Phil acted with characteristic dignity and selflessness in recognizing that his resignation was for the good of the company," said Platt. "We accepted his decision with sadness, but also with the knowledge that changes needed to be made. The board is confident that the new leadership will bring a renewed focus on execution and performance."

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OSHA cites furniture maker for chemical exposure
A Lincoln, R.I., office furniture manufacturer's failure to provide adequate safeguards for employees working with the chemical methylene chloride (MC) resulted in $49,200 in fines from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

Packaging Concepts Ltd. was cited for alleged repeat and serious violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and for failing to correct a hazard cited in an earlier OSHA inspection. Some workers at the plant are exposed to MC, a potential occupational carcinogen, during spraying and laminating operations.

"OSHA standards require an employer to take effective steps to reduce workers' exposure levels and to implement other safeguards -- including respiratory protection, regulated work areas, washing facilities, exposure monitoring and medical surveillance -- when exposure levels remain high," said Kipp W. Hartmann, OSHA's Rhode Island area director. "Our inspection found that the company had not implemented all of these required protections."

OSHA proposed a $30,000 fine for the company's ongoing failure to provide medical surveillance for workers whose duties involved exposure to MC. OSHA first cited the company for this hazard in May 2002. Packaging Concepts agreed to correct that violation, but a follow-up inspection initiated last month found no correction.

Four serious citations, carrying $11,200 in proposed fines, were issued for employee overexposure to MC, not implementing controls to reduce exposure levels, not having a respiratory protection program and failing to supply workers with the proper respirators; failure to conduct periodic exposure monitoring; failure to establish a regulated work area; electrical safety hazards; and an uncovered container of flammable liquid.

Two repeat citations, with $8,000 in fines, were issued for not providing washing facilities for employees working with MC; and not providing workers with training and information on MC and other hazardous chemicals used in the workplace.

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Durable goods orders jump 3.3 percent in October
New orders for manufactured durable goods increased $5.9 billion, or 3.3 percent, to $184.5 billion in October, according to the Department of Commerce. This followed a 2.1 percent increase in September and increases in five of the last six months.

New orders for machinery increased 1 percent during October, following a 1.5 percent increase in September. Orders for computers and electronic products increased by 4 percent after a 7 percent increase in September.

While transportation equipment orders increased 5.5 percent during the month, orders for motor vehicles and parts fell 1.1 percent.

Durable goods are costly manufactured products expected to last three or more years.

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