AFS Corporate Member Hodge Foundry (Greenville, Pennsylvania), one of 16 winners of this year’s AFS Safe Year Award, had an extra important reason to celebrate their EHS performance this fall: Thanks to the quick thinking and fast action of six employees last August, a co-worker’s life was saved. 

Yard employees Jim Hartley and Jack Wentz were emptying material into a sand pile when Hartley suddenly suffered a heart attack and collapsed, unconscious. Immediately, Wentz radioed Foundry Supervisor Pat Lumley, who called 911 and hurried to the scene with Dave King, also a foundry supervisor, and Todd Adams, millwright. Jerry Furey, coremaker, brought the facility’s AED (automated external defibrillator). These team members weren’t getting a pulse, so King and Adams prepared the device and applied its shock to restore Smith’s heart rhythm. While Adams performed CPR, Kyle Eckard from the mold floor ran to the parking lot to direct paramedics to the emergency location. 

An ambulance took Hartley to a local hospital, from which he was airlifted to University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) in Erie. Hartley was still on leave recovering when Modern Casting went to press.

To honor the heroic acts of all involved, Director of EHS Nate Goldowski helped organize a special recognition. 

He and Plant Manager Mike Forsha were already coordinating a companywide steak cookout to celebrate the AFS Safe Year Award Hodge received in October, where all employees would receive a commemorative hoodie and enjoy a raffle of various prizes. What the six foundry responders didn’t know was that a ceremony for them was being secretly planned in praise of their lifesaving actions. 

“Everyone in the foundry got a nice ribeye steak dinner grilled by our plant manager on Nov. 19 [and for the night shift Nov. 18] to recognize our whole team for the 365 days without a lost time incident in 2024,” said Goldowski. “The surprise was that people from UPMC came out to recognize our internal first responders as well as four individuals from the ambulance company and a police officer who also responded that day. They gave a presentation and provided certificates and gifts to the individuals involved.

“We also gave them all formal certificates,” Goldowski added. “And we made a special casting to give each of them—an exemplary service award. That was a bit of a challenge to keep secret, because in a small plant, everybody knows what’s going on. So there was a small group of us that did things offsite, and then we actually poured the castings over the weekend to keep it a surprise.” 

Although Hartley was unable to attend the event, his wife and son were present for the celebratory event and had the opportunity to thank the people responsible for saving Hartley’s life. 

Goldowski underscored the foundry’s culture, in which daily safety consciousness keeps people safe on the job—and shifts into rescue mode when needed.

“I would say our culture is one that’s built on transparency, open communication, and a willingness to get better,” he said. “I think we have a very vocal workforce, and I don’t think they have an issue in elevating any concerns they have. They hold each other accountable, and I think they hold us as management accountable, as well. We have a good line of communication between employees and supervisors, employees and management, and we all understand what the end goal is and how to get there. It’s all about having open dialog and being comfortable to raise concerns when needed.”

Forsha added, “It’s all about the day-to-day interactions with the guys on the floor and the supervisors. Nate has done a good job of implementing a companywide, behavioral-based safety program, and people are not afraid to question something unusual that’s happening and talk about it. We’ve also done a lot more lately to deep dive into the near misses and use these as teaching opportunities.”