The company where a worker died Monday when more than a ton of granite slabs fell on him was fined by OSHA a year ago for six safety violations, according to theMetroWest Daily News (Mass.).

A May 2004 inspection of Atlantic Stone Industries LLC, Marlborough, Mass., found violations including unsafe operation of industrial trucks and failure to have fall protection for employees working on an overhead crane, said an OSHA report.

OSHA is investigating the Monday accident that killed 38-year-old Valdecir Rodrigues, who died after granite slabs weighing a combined 2,250 pounds fell on him, authorities said.

Lack of training, supervision and knowledge may have played a role in his death, said Carlos Eduardo Siqueira, a professor at UMass-Lowell's Department of Work Environment who has done research identifying workplace hazards affecting Brazilian immigrants in Massachusetts.

“What we see here is a worker with only two weeks on the job who was doing highly unsafe work,” said Siqueira. “The fundamental question is ‘why was he doing this.’ This was a very dangerous job.”

ASI is a stone manufacturer that cuts marble slabs for countertops, tiles and flooring. The company employs about 50 people, including 10 stone craftsmen.

In last year's accident, OSHA fined ASI $5,250, which the company reportedly paid.