A Breese, Ill., contractor will pay more than $40,000 in fines over trench cave-ins after an investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
In late May, OSHA cited Groundworks Contracting for multiple violations of the OSHA Act, and fines initially totaling more than $77,000.
Inspectors found at least five employees in trenches as deep as 18 feet without protection, and one worker housed in an excavator’s bucket over a 15-foot-deep trench, according to OSHA.
Groundworks settled the case for $41,185.
Among the seven citations are that:
- EMPLOYEES were exposed to falling from the bucket of a Caterpillar excavator.
- THE COMPANY failed to instruct employees in how to avoid unsafe conditions.
- INSPECTIONS were not conducted by a competent person before the start of work.
- EMPLOYEES were not protected by hardhats.
- INFORMATION about a trench box was not provided despite a request.
The most serious allegation was that in five instances, employees were exposed to cave-ins while working in 12-18-foot trenches without protection. Cited as “willful- serious,” this citation alone carried at $56,253 fine.
CITY CONTACTED OSHA
The city of Waterloo had tipped OSHA to the working conditions, apparently after Groundworks had allegedly ignored a city engineer’s repeated written and verbal instructions to use trench cave-in protection, according to a press release from OSHA before the settlement.
“With help from a concerned City of Waterloo engineer, our inspectors were able to hold Groundworks Contracting Inc. accountable for its failure to protect employees from the threat of trench collapse, one of the construction industry’s most lethal hazards,” said OSHA Area Director Aaron Priddy. “Despite warnings from local authorities, this Contractor’s callous lack of concern for their employees’ safety and well-being is hard to imagine.”
OSHA’s order also included requirements for corrective action, including supporting documentation. OSHA regulations require that trenching operations must be inspected by a competent person, and certain cave-in protection measures must be in place, including a safe means to enter and exit with equipment and materials kept away from the edge.
Any trench deeper than five feet must have a protective system, and trenches 20 feet or deeper require a system designed by a professional engineer.
Groundworks owner Jason Richter told the Belleville News-Democrat that they had reached a compromise with OSHA in the settlement, including a new position in his company as safety director.
“I think having a safety director for the business alone will help out tremendously,” he said. “Safety is the key to our company. We just want to make sure everybody goes home safe at night to their families.”
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