Goodyear accident victim identified
The dead worker Jeanie Lynne Strader
Posted: Tuesday, September 1, 2015 6:00 pm
BY JOHN R. CRANE
jcrane@registerbee.com
(434) 791-7987
The woman who died at Goodyear on Monday night was an accomplished pianist who loved animals.
Jeanie Lynne Strader, 56, of Chatham, is remembered by loved ones as a loving and caring person, according to her obituary.
A 1977 graduate of Dan River High School, she was a windup operator and roll changer at Goodyear, where she worked for 15 years. Primary responsibility as a wind-up operator was to guide rubber and cloth through Goodyear’s fabric calendar, an overhead machine that winds the materials into rolls.
As a wind-up operator, Jeannie was also responsible for
assisting the mill operator with a procedure that required removing strips of
rubber from the mill when it became jammed.
Jeannie was required to lift strips of rubber weighing
between 25 to 60 pounds from the mill and place them on a rack. The rack was
located at a height between Jeannie’s lower chest and shoulder level. Jams in the mill typically occurred once a day
and, on some occasions, as many as five times a day.
She was a member of Glenwood Memorial Baptist Church and also attended Williamson Memorial Presbyterian Church whenever possible, according to her obituary.
Strader died during an accident at the Goodyear plant at about 9:30 p.m. Monday.
“Goodyear’s on-site emergency response team, as well as local emergency personnel, responded immediately, and all parties are cooperating in the investigation into the root cause of the incident,” according to a statement from Goodyear.
A compliance officer with the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry’s Occupational Safety and Health division is investigating the incident, said Lee Willis, the department’s Southwest Safety regional director.
Willis said he had no details from the compliance officer. However, it is possible that Jeanie may have been caught by and pulled into a wind-up unit where she was working. See the attached safety alert for another death at another Goodyear plant.
Goodyear reported the incident to OSHA and will cooperate in the investigation, according to the statement.
“Our hearts go out to the family, friends and co-workers of the employee during this very difficult time,” the company said in the statement.
A representative with United Steelworkers Local 831 — the union representing Goodyear workers in Danville — in Providence, North Carolina, declined to comment Tuesday.
Strader’s funeral will be held at 2 p.m. Friday at Wrenn-Yeatts’ North Main Chapel by the Rev. Carl Burger and the Rev. G.H. Vaughan. Interment will follow at Highland Burial Park.
The family will receive friends at the funeral home from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday and at other times they will be at the residence of her parents, Jimmy and Frances Clark, at 512 Little Creek Road in Ringgold.
Memorial donations may be made to Williamson Memorial Presbyterian Church, 483 Mountain Hill Road, Ringgold, 24586.
Online condolences may be made at www.wrenn-yeatts.com.
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Safety Alert
Fatality At Tire Plant
Bias Cutter Wind-Up Unit
On February 3, 2007, Jason Conley, a bias cutter operator was fatally injured when he was caught by and pulled into a wind-up unit at Goodyear in Union City, TN.
Preliminary results of an investigation by the USW indicates the following
The bias cutter had been down for approximately one hour because no A-Frame units were available for the wind-up. When an A-Frame became available, Brother Conley began the set-up and was changing a liner roll to restart production on the equipment.
Through the course of the initial investigation, it was concluded that the set-up was performed in the automatic mode. The wind-up has been designed for set-up to be done in the manual mode, using a jog button to turn the drum. However, workers indicate that it is known and common practice for the set-up to be performed in the automatic mode by some operators.
Apparently, Brother Conley’s hand or hands were caught by the liner/drum during the set-up and he was pulled into the nip point. His body wrapped around the drum and it continued to rotate a few times before the electric drive motor kicked-out.
At some point after he was trapped (estimated about five minutes), other operators saw him and initiated rescue procedures. Brother Conley was transported to local medical facilities, then to regional medical facilities. He died on Sunday, February 4th.
Recommendations
• Wind-up guards and safeties should be reviewed. Rubber industry wind-up roll guarding should be reviewed by all local union safety committees to ensure that adequate protection is provided to our members.
• Layout and design of equipment must account for variations in reach and height of operators. Local union safety committees should review layout and design of all equipment.
• Training programs should adequately address safety procedures. Initial and refresher training should be reviewed to make certain that proper procedures are instructed in classroom and on the job settings.