April 4, 2022

To: Bryan Lopez

From: Seth Payson
Subject: Aisle 12 Shelving Concern

Dear Bryan,

I am writing to you to inform you about the faulty and dangerous shelf on aisle 12. Aisle 12,
commonly referred to as the dirt aisle, holds many heavy bags of soil, sand, manure, etc. I have
found the shelf on this aisle to be a safety hazard within our workplace. I noticed this today as I
was loading bags of soil onto the shelf, the shelf wobbled and is unstable. Considering that this
shelf holds a heavy load, it is even more susceptible to falling or collapsing.

From my observations, it looks like the legs of the shelf may be beginning to deteriorate. At
best, a new shelf should replace the old faulty one on aisle 12. At minimum, this shelf needs to
be repaired to meet safety standards. I am unsure of how the store orders these supplies, so if
action were to be taken, the store could choose the path of its best interest. While this may
have remained unnoticed until now, this is an issue that should be viewed with urgency due to
consequences if the shelf were to collapse.

I am willing to assist in fixing the shelf or dissembling and assembling a new shelf depending
upon what the store decides. In the long run, a new or updated shelf would save the store
much more money than it would have to spend in the case of a workplace accident.

Thank you,

Seth Payson
April 5, 2022
To: Seth Payson
From: Bryan Lopez
Subject: Re: Aisle 12 Shelving Concern

Hello Seth,

I received your inquiry concerning the shelf on aisle twelve. Due to me currently being out of
town, I cannot personally examine the shelf myself. However, I have contacted the store owner,
as I do not have the power to buy this kind of store materials. You are one of my best
employees and I trust your judgment, so, I will treat this matter with urgency. The owner will
most likely want a little more information concerning the faulty shelf for him to make a
decision. So, if you could please provide more detail and answer these questions for me:

• When did you first notice the shelf was unstable?

• Do you currently see the shelf as unfit to carry the load if it were fully stocked and do
you believe that it is the stores best interest to immediately dissemble the shelf?
• How easily do you think the shelf could be repaired?
• Have you noticed any other shelves with similar problems in the store?

Again, I see this as an urgent manner, so I will make sure to clearly convey that to the owner.
Knowing him personally, I do not foresee this to be an issue, so hopefully, we can resolve this
quickly.

Whether the owner decides to order new shelving or decides that the current shelving should
be repaired. We will most likely be looking at a week to two weeks before any new materials
arrive, so I am asking you to determine if the shelf is too much of a risk and whether or not it
should be dissembled immediately. In the case that you do believe it is unsafe, I would ask you
and other employees to either come in before the store opens or to stay after the store closes
to unstock and dissemble the shelf. Since the shelf mainly consists of bags of manure, soil, and
potting mix, I do not have a problem placing these items on the ground where the shelf is
currently standing.

Please let me know as quickly as possible and thank you for bringing this to my attention.

Sincerely,

Bryan Lopez
April 5, 2022
To: Bryan Lopez
From: Seth Payson
Subject: Re: Aisle 12 Shelving Concern

Good morning,

Thank you for acting and trying to keep our workplace a safe environment. It is greatly
appreciated from me and I’m sure it is greatly appreciated from all the other employees as well.

As for your questions, I noticed that the shelf was unstable yesterday, when I was stocking the
manure in that aisle. This was shortly before I emailed you. When it comes to the shelf, I believe
the best course of action would be to take it down immediately and place the product on the
floor and other shelves for the time being. Right now, the shelf is only holding about 60% of its
full capacity and I would not consider it to be stable enough to be deemed safe.

When I took a closer look at the components of the shelf, I noticed that one of the brackets at
the bottom of the shelf is rusted and partially cracked. I assume that this is why the shelf is a
little wobbly. After finding this, I looked at the other brackets on the shelve and found the
others to be rusted as well. While I believe that the brackets could be replaced, it appears that
the rust continues onto the actual legs of the shelf as well. My instinct tells me that the best
and safest option would be to immediately dissemble the shelf and have a new one put in.

On top of this, I did go back through and check some of the other shelves throughout the store
as well. While I did find a few shelves that may have had a little rust, I did not find that the rust
affected the structural integrity of the shelf itself. However, it may be nice to either keep an eye
on these shelves in the future or remove the rust.

Below I also attached two short articles, one is just a brief overview on store safety and the
other is an example of a shelf falling on a customer due to faulty components.

With thanks and appreciation,

Seth P.

https://www.expertinstitute.com/resources/case-studies/grocery-store-shopper-is-injured-by-falling-shelves/
https://www.expertinstitute.com/resources/insights/retail-store-accidents-a-guide-to-assessing-liability/
April 7, 2022
To: Seth Payson
From: Bryan Lopez
Subject: Aisle 12 Solution

Hello Seth,

After reviewing your initial inquiries and after multiple discussions with the owner, the store is
going to proceed in replacing the shelf on aisle 12. I will also give you a brief overlook of the
stores plan to proceed with this issue, a detailed memo will also be sent to all employees.

Effective immediately, the shelf is to be taken down today after store hours or tomorrow
before store hours. A new shelf has been ordered and is scheduled to arrive with our store’s
shipment next Friday morning. Once the shelf is dissembled, the plan is to stack the majority of
the bags on the ground where the shelf currently is. Some smaller items will need to be placed
on other shelves in the store, most likely aisle 11 and 13 for convenience. New price tags will
also need to be made to suit the temporary spots for the products currently on the shelf. Once
the new shelf arrives, we will have it built after store hours, then replace all the products back
onto the shelf.

We have also created a long-term plan for the store to minimalize having similar problems in
the future. This includes periodically checking shelves throughout the store for loose bolts,
excessive rust, etc. Cleaning any excessive rust and tightening and/or replacing loose or missing
bolts.

Additionally, we want to encourage the employees to reach out if issues arise within the store,
you coming to me with this issue is a great example. And we will also be looking for volunteers
to come in early or stay late to dissemble and build the new shelves if that interests you. We
will be offering time and a half for extra hours worked.

We greatly appreciate you addressing us with this problem, and you should see another
message from me to all employees shortly.

Thank you,

Bryan Lopez
April 7, 2022
To: All Ace Hardware Employees
From: Bryan Lopez
Subject: Store Safety Concerning Shelving

Memorandum
Hello Employees,

It was recently brought to my attention that the shelf on aisle 12, holding much of the dirt,
sand, and soil, is unstable and serves as a safety hazard towards employees and customers
alike.

It was decided, by me and the owner, that the best course of action is to dissemble the shelf
immediately to minimize the safety hazard and build a new shelf once it arrives (hopefully on
next Friday’s shipment). Therefore, we are looking for 4 volunteers to stay (or come in) after
the store closes today, to dissemble the shelf and dispose of it in the dumpsters out back. We
are offering a pay of time and a half for those who want to help. The first four to contact me
will be chosen. I will have more information and instructions for those who wish to help, I
would not expect this to take longer than 2 hours.

On top of this, the store will be implementing a long-term plan to prevent and minimize risks
within our store. This will include:

• Bi-monthly checking of key components of shelves in the store. Checking for rust, loose
bolts, stability, etc.
• Cleaning of excessive rust on shelves where applicable.
• Repair work and tightening of shelve components where applicable.

We highly encourage you to be on the lookout and to contact management if any problems in
the store arise. We want to keep our store as safe as possible for everyone inside! It can also
create opportunities for extra pay!

I will reach out again, when the new shelf arrives for volunteers who want to help assemble it.
Until then, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Thank you,

Bryan Lopez