OSHA accuses New Bedford contractor
BOSTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Davis Sheet Metal, Inc., of New Bedford for a variety of “violations” in its roofing work at William H. Taylor School in that community and has proposed penalties of almost $70,000. According to OSHA, an Oct. 7, 1999 inspection of the worksite at Brock Road discovered a variety of safety hazards and the lack of fall protection for Davis Sheet Metal workers at the three-story site. OSHA said Davis had 10 employees working at the site. OSHA proposed $56,000 in fines for violations related to the absence of appropriate safety, fall prevention and fall-arrest equipment at the Brock Road site. An additional $8,400 in penalties is sought for “repeat violations” of the safety training obligations for workers in a dangerous environment, continual use of defective slings for lifting materials from the ground to the roof, and failure to properly inspect a hydraulic crane.
Millennium, Bristol-Myers form alliance
CAMBRIDGE – Millennium Pharmaceuticals and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. have announced a $32 million research alliance in predictive medicine in oncology. The agreement is said to be the first such alliance in the field of pharmacogenomics which combines pharmaceutical research with knowledge of the human genome. The research program calls for Millennium Predictive Medicine, Inc., a majority owned subsidiary of Millennium, to receive $32 million in research funds and in licensing and annual fees from Bristol-Myers Squibb, plus additional funds based on certain criteria. Bristol-Myers will market any new drugs that are developed from the alliance and pay Millennium royalties. The work of the alliance is expected to lead to new oncology treatments and diagnostic tests which would be marketed by companies chosen by Millennium and Bristol-Myers.
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Harvard Pilgrim sells workers’ comp. business
WALTHAM – Harvard Pilgrim Health Care has sold its workers’ compensation business to Atlantic Charter Insurance Group, based in Boston. Purchase price was not disclosed. The sale is tied in with Harvard Pilgrim’s effort to reorganize and halt its heavy financial losses by concentrating on its core medical care business. Harvard Pilgrim got into the workers’ comp. business last year through a subsidiary, First Return Insurance Co. Atlantic Charter is one of the state’s largest workers’ compensation underwriting companies.
Keane agrees to buy Virginia firm
BOSTON – Keane, Inc. has signed a letter of intent to buy Anstec., Inc., an information technology company in McLean, Va. Anstec provides services primarily to federal agencies. Terms of the purchase were not disclosed. Keane reported it expected to complete the acquisition within four weeks.
Arbitrator rules against Raytheon
LEXINGTON – An arbitrator has ruled that Raytheon Co. did discriminate against several women involved in a program to dismantle old nuclear bombers and cruise missiles in the former Soviet Union, refusing to promote any and laying off most of them. Raytheon had denied the allegations. The arbitrator wrote that the women “have met their burden of proof and persuasion in showing that [Raytheon], more probably than not, discriminated against them because of their sex.” She added that Raytheon’s challenge of the women’s qualifications “is mere pretext.” The arbitrator awarded interim damages of $870,000. The women are seeking a court order to force Raytheon to pay them immediately.
Raytheon unit to build powerplants
LEXINGTON – Raytheon Engineers & Contractors, a unit which the company said recently it was considering selling, has contracts to build two power plants in the state for Sithe Energies, Inc. under a $1.1 billion contract. The two gas-powered projects are a 1,600 megawatt plant in Everett and an 800 megawatt plant in Weymouth. Both are designed to sell power on the open market. Sithe Energies, based in New York, owns and operates power plants.
Raytheon over budget, way behind on shells
LEXINGTON – Bloomberg News, quoting military service officials and unspecified documents, reported that Raytheon Co. is 100 percent over budget and three years late with a new satellite guided naval artillery shell that is designed to be fired from destroyers and strike targets more than 60 miles away. About 15 miles is the maximum range of unguided naval artillery shells today. Under its cost plus contract with Raytheon, the Navy is stuck with most of the cost overruns from the project, but Raytheon stands to lose as much as $2.8 million in bonus awards for failing to meet production incentives. Because of Raytheon’s poor performance, Bloomberg said, the Navy is considering bringing in a second contractor to get the contract completed. The development contract was for $44 million. The Navy has already spent $58 million on it. Raytheon estimates it will cost at least $88 million to complete the contract.
Meanwhile, Raytheon announced that it is seeking a buyer for its headquarters property in Lexington. Company spokesman insisted that it had no intention of moving its headquarters from Massachusetts, but simply wanted to raise some cash through the sale of three building on the property and leasing them back for continued, at least partial use by Raytheon. The company employs 750 at its Lexington headquarters, but it has said it intends to cut that number back by more than 100 as part of its economy moves. It has already ordered extensive layoffs in its various enterprises.
