Christine Guilfoy
TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
Inspector Jane Barrieault of Leominster talks to Assistant Labor Secretary John L. Henshaw Tuesday during a tour of Fosta-Tec in Leominster. (T&G Staff / RICK CINCLAIR)

LEOMINSTER - When Fosta-Tek Optics workers developed allergy-like symptoms during a coating process, company managers were pleasantly surprised to find help from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, an agency more commonly known for meting out punishment to safety violators.

While OSHA has had its critics, Fosta-Tek Vice President James LeBlanc praised the agency during a visit yesterday by one of its chief administrators, Assistant Labor Secretary John L. Henshaw.

Mr. Henshaw, Regional OSHA Administrator Marthe Kent, and state Division of Occupational Safety program supervisor Kathryn A. Swanson Flannery were at the plant to praise what they said was Fosta-Tek's exemplary safety training program.

Fosta-Tek manufactures high-precision lenses used by the military, public safety personnel and automobile manufacturers. Among its products are face shields and night-vision goggles now being used by American military personnel in Iraq. Company President John Morrison Jr. led the safety officials on a tour of the Hamilton Street plant.

OSHA officials also visited Hopkinton, to seal a partnership with Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety, and Westboro, where Mr. Henshaw spoke at a lunch for members of the Associated Industries of Massachusetts.

Liberty Mutual and OSHA will share research on worker safety, such as research on floor slipperiness. The agencies will use the information to reduce slip-and-fall accidents, which cost employers $13.4 billion in 2001, according to information from OSHA.

Mr. Henshaw said the partnerships OSHA is forming are part of its push to convince companies that maintaining a strict safety program is not only the right thing to do because it protects workers, but is good business as well. Meanwhile, the agency is stepping up its enforcement program for companies that repeatedly violate worker safety regulations, the assistant secretary said.

Occupational Safety & Health Administration
Created: 1971
Current goal: Reduce workplace fatality rates by 15 percent and workplace injury and illness rates by 20 percent by 2008. Administrator: John L. Henshaw
Staff: 2,303, including 1,123 inspectors.
Federal inspections, 2002: 37,493 finding 78,433 violations and $72.8 million in penalties.
State inspections, 2002: 58,402 finding 144,075 violations and penalties of $75.9 million.Twenty-six states erritories conduct workplace inspections as part of OSHA-approved safety and health programs.

Source: Occupational Safety & Health Administration "We're not just an enforcement agency," Mr. Henshaw said. He said his agency has begun outreach and education programs as a way to reach more companies. As an enforcement agency, OSHA is limited, he said. His agency could inspect only about 2 percent of the nation's companies each year, he said.

Fosta-Tek first contacted OSHA in the fall, after workers in the coating room began experiencing watery eyes and sore throats. The problem was quickly traced to a change in the alcohol used in one of its chemical processes.

OSHA eventually fined the Fosta-Tek for some minor violations, Mr. LeBlanc said. But OSHA also offered safety training, including a program for the plant's multi-lingual workers, he said. Fosta-Tek estimates that one-third of its workers are immigrants who speak English as a second language.

"I can't say there were any negatives, whatsoever," Mr. LeBlanc said of his company's contact with OSHA. OSHA and the state Division of Occupational Safety combined to train two Spanish-speaking workers, who in turn will train other Spanish-speaking workers on plant safety. The workers also will be available to provide basic worker safety information to Spanish-speaking workers from other companies.

"We're hoping to get a big ripple effect out of that," said OSHA's Ronald E. Morin. "It's a 3-way partnership." The agency has focused on training immigrants, who work some of the most dangerous jobs and suffer injuries in disproportion to their numbers in the workforce, he said.

Mr. Henshaw said the Fosta-Tek model works by combining worker involvement with management support. His agency wants to spread the word about companies like Fosta-Tek, which will reduce injuries and illnesses and be more efficient as a result of the safety program.

"One of our jobs is to acknowledge companies who are doing the right thing," Mr. Henshaw said.