Opinion ID: 809864
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The 2004 and 2006 Incidents

Text: Not long after Ceinos became Site Leader, Acevedo began to experience performance problems at the company. Ceinos became aware of a number of incidents involving Acevedo's department that occurred from 2004 to 2006 and factored these into Acevedo's performance reviews. In 2004, such events included (1) the recorded presence of rodents in the chocolate manufacturing and packaging areas, (2) the recorded presence of bacteria in two lots of Ex-Lax's Gas-X Super Extra Strength Soft Gel 30's, and (3) a packaging process deviation. The first of these incidents transpired in January of 2004, when a rodent was found in the packaging area near the chocolate line, causing production to be put on hold. A subsequent investigation conducted by Ex-Lax personnel, and in which Acevedo participated, determined that the rodent had likely entered the packaging area during a building renovation that began on December 30, 2003, during which contractors accessed the plant through the cafeteria's emergency exit door and the employees' entrance door. The investigation team found that these doors had remained open for longer than necessary, but the resulting report did not specifically mention a mistake or error on the part of Acevedo or his department. Later, in June of 2004, an employee from One Source, Ex-Lax's building services contractor, found traces of ceiling tile -6- on the floor of the chocolate manufacturing area. It was later confirmed that this was the result of rodent activity in the ceiling above the chocolate room. After the setting of traps and the capture of one small rodent, a maintenance technician found a hole in an unused exhaust fan in the ceiling of the Quality Assurance Laboratory. The exhaust fan was immediately removed and the hole sealed. A subsequent investigation concluded it was highly probable that the rodent gained access through the previously uncovered hole. The discovery of this latter rodent activity caused the company to reject, or decommission, a batch of chocolate laxative. The second 2004 event took place in September and involved the detection through laboratory tests of a bacteria in two lots of Ex-Lax's Gas-X Super Extra Strength Soft Gel 30's. This triggered the Quality Assurance Department's rejection and disposal of the lots. An investigation team comprised of Ex-Lax personnel, including Acevedo, later concluded that the bacteria could have originated either from mold contamination in (closed and unused) bathrooms located near the production area, or from the fact that one of the operators who participated in the inspection of the lots was confirmed to be sick at the time of the inspection. Acevedo indicated through testimony that contamination in the bathrooms could have been prevented had there been an SOP in place regarding their daily cleaning. -7- The third and final 2004 event also occurred in September, when the personnel from Acevedo's department were installing and setting up a new brush box for the packaging of a lot of Gas-X Maximum Strength Soft Gels 50's. During the set-up, they became aware that the positioning of the brushes inside the brush box was not correct, so they changed it. They then installed a new acrylic box in the brush box and evaluated the effect of the acrylic box on the packaging operation. Although these actions did not have a negative impact on the quality of Ex-Lax's product, both actions were taken without the appropriate deviation approval from the Production and Quality Assurance Departments and, therefore, violated Ex-Lax's Change Control Procedure. The record reveals that some of the personnel involved in this event may not have received adequate training in the change control procedures. After the brush box incident, all personnel, supervisors, and managers in Acevedo's department were so trained. Ceinos testified that he became aware of each of the 2004 incidents through their corresponding investigative and/or unplanned deviation reports. He also indicated that he attributed responsibility for each of the incidents to Acevedo based on his general job description and responsibilities. Accordingly, Ceinos recorded them in Acevedo's 2004 annual performance review, in which he gave Acevedo a low overall rating of 1, or partially met expectations. As a result, Ex-Lax required that Acevedo complete -8- a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP), lasting from March 22 to June 22, 2005. The PIP identified Acevedo's specific performance problems and outlined the personalized improvement plan that he was expected to complete. According to the terms of the PIP, Ex-Lax gave Acevedo ninety days to successfully complete the plan and achieve a status of fully meeting expectations in order to retain his current position at the company, with the caveat that Ex-Lax always reserved the right to take appropriate action, including termination, if Acevedo's improvement did not continue. Acevedo complied with the requirements of his 2005 PIP, and Ceinos subsequently rated him as fully met expectations in both the mid-year and annual 2005 performance reviews. In 2006 Ceinos again held Acevedo responsible for a number of incidents which he deemed to have affected Acevedo's performance. The first of these incidents involved a change in equipment that resulted in Total Organic Carbon (TOC) levels above the acceptable limit in the purified water used for production. As a result, Ex-Lax had to discard almost forty thousand dollars' worth of manufactured products. The record reflects that Acevedo was on vacation at the time this occurred and that another employee, Angel Alsina (Alsina), was assigned supervisory duties during his absence. The second incident involved the potential contamination of a chocolate batch after a fumigation (or fogging) procedure -9- was performed in the chocolate manufacturing area by Ecolab, Ex-Lax's pest control services contractor. The company's Quality Assurance and Compliance Departments had to decommission the batch of chocolate prepared on the day of the fogging. Ex-Lax stated that this represented a loss of just over ninety thousand dollars to the company. The unplanned deviation report indicated that the Ecolab employee who applied the insecticide may not have been given clear instructions due to an inadequate written procedure addressing what to do before, during, and after a pest control activity takes place. Third, and finally, based on two routine walks he took to evaluate the plant's facilities, Ceinos found that there was a general lack of cleanliness and organization in the spare parts room, the machine shop, and the purified water room. Ultimately, Acevedo received a mixed evaluation in his 2006 annual performance review -- Ceinos's overall rating in the objectives portion amounted to fully met expectations, while his overall rating in the values and objectives section reached only partially met expectations.