Saturday, September 28, 2013
4 firms fined for role in nuke-plant death
Four companies connected with a fatal crane collapse at Arkansas Nuclear One in Russellville have been cited for 26 safety violations and fined by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the agency said Friday.
Entergy Operations Inc., Siemens Power Generation Inc., Bigge Crane and Rigging Co. and Precision Surveillance Corp. face fines totaling $175,000 for safety violations tied to the March 31 accident, according to notices from OSHA.
The accident occurred when a crane collapsed while lifting a 525-ton main turbine generator stator, causing the death of Wade Walters, 24, an employee of one of the contracting firms.
Eight workers were injured.
Entergy Operations was fined $49,000 for seven serious violations.
Siemens Power Generation was cited for nine serious violations and faces a $63,000 fine. Bigge Crane was cited for nine serious violations and fined $56,700.
Precision Surveillance was cited for one serious violation and faces a $6,300 penalty for failing to provide an effective communication system with an emergency stop signal, according to a news release.
Wal-Mart exec: App driving store traffic
A Wal-Mart executive speaking at the Mobile Marketing Association’s SM2 conference in New York said consumers who download the retailer’s app spend more and shop in stores twice as much as the average shopper.
Wanda Young, vice president of media and digital marketing for Wal-Mart Stores Inc., provided attendees with a look at how mobile devices play a role in Wal-Mart’s strategy.
“We found, most importantly, those who have our app are making twice as many trips to Wal-Mart,” Young said. “It’s a great customer win because we’re giving them the tools that they’re asking for, but we’re helping them and allowing them to save time and money.”
Young said 55 percent of the retailer’s shoppers have a smartphone, which has paved the way for how Wal-Mart uses its mobile app to connect with consumers in-store.
Arkansas Index ends week with 0.64 drop
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, dropped 0.64 to 299.26 Friday.
All but three stocks lost ground.
Shares of USA Truck, which has been fighting a takeover attempt, fell 2.4 percent with 16 times its average trading volume.
Acxiom fell 1 percent in heavy trading.
P.A.M. Transportation Services rose 7.2 percent for the week.
Volume for the index was 17.4 million shares. The average daily volume for the week was 21.5 million shares.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business, Pages 31 on 09/28/2013