Opinion ID: 183762
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Neil McKinlay & George Hughes

Text: Neil McKinlay, European Colour's Supply Chain Director, and George Hughes, European Colour's Managing Director, visited Fall River from October 6 to 10, 2003, at which time McKinlay conducted a broad health and safety review of the facility. McKinlay's most important responsibility during the trip was to ensure that the facility's safety procedures were sufficient to prevent accidents to employees. This goal was part of the Zero Standards program introduced by Stephen Smith, chairman of the European Colour board, which dictated that the only acceptable number of accidents was zero. At the time of his visit, McKinlay was aware of a January 2002 incident in which the emergency braking device on the materials lift had failed. He also knew that the lift had been repaired, inspected, and placed back into service. He had not been told, however, that the lift had fallen again in September 2003, shortly before his visit, and indeed did not discover that fact until years later, at his deposition in the Custadio lawsuit. During the visit, both Clayton and Nadilio Almeida, Custadio's supervisor at Roma Color, told McKinlay that they wanted to replace the materials lift, in order both to increase capacity and improve safety. Despite the requests and McKinlay's duty to review the safety at the facility, he did not inspect or inquire about the materials lift's emergency braking device. Moreover, McKinlay knew that Custadio maintained the lift and was the most knowledgeable among the Fall River personnel about its condition, but the two did not discuss it. During the return trip to the United Kingdom, on approximately October 10, 2003, McKinlay told Hughes that there had been a request for a large capital expenditure to add an additional lift at the Fall River facility. McKinlay advised that another lift was unnecessary, however, and that spending $100,000 on a new one was wasteful. After he returned, McKinlay discussed several of the facility's safety issues with Smith, the chairman of the European Colour board, but McKinlay did not mention the materials lift.