Last Wednesday, the Redevelopment Commission opened bids for the Harrison Square project. One the bid opened for the painting contract was submitted by The Apostolos Group Inc., DBA Thomarios out of Akron, Ohio. Curiosity about the name led to a quick google which revealed two incidences in which workers connected with Thomarios died.
On July 30th 2002, a worker at the then under-construction Ford Field in Detroit was killed when the lift he was using fell into a concrete seating area. Thomarios was a subcontractor for the project and was fined $270,000:
Thomarios was cited for a willful violation of the General Duty clause for failure to protect their worker from a hazardous condition and a willful citation for failure to have operators perform a pre-operation inspection. Brockman [provider of the lift to Thomarios] received a willful citation for failure to inspect and maintain the aerial lift platform. Both companies received three Willful citations for: inadequate training, no manuals provided, and missing warning decals/stickers. (reference article | Please note that the next article cited details a different number of violations)
A Willful violation is defined as one committed with an intentional disregard of or plain indifference to the requirements of the MIOSHA Act and regulations. (reference article)
In November 28th 2005, while working on a new parking garage for the Cleveland State University, a wall collapsed killing one worker. Thomarios was the general contractor for the project while the two men worked for a subcontractor, Martin Enterprises out of Cleveland, Ohio. Martin Enterprises had a number of violations prior to the accident. The Federal investigation into the incident yielded fines for both companies and findings that:
Thomarios Inc. of Akron was blamed for leaving the wall in an “unbraced and unsafe condition” for weeks leading up to the accident. Thomarios issued a statement saying “frequent and regular inspections were assured by Thomarios.” (reference article)
According to the Thomarios website, they have completed projects for NASA and the Intrepid Air, Sea and Space Museum in New York City. They also have an office in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania as well. The company traces it’s beginning back to 1948 and was incorporated in 1969.
The Thomarios bid for the painting contract was the sole bid received by the Redevelopment Commission. The amount of their bid was $536,070
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