Trenching cave-in injures drainpipe installer employee

Employer's name: Boyles Construction Inc. in Little Rock, Arkansas

Citations issued: OSHA cited the company for one willful, seven serious and one other-than-serious violations on Oct. 14, 2015

Investigation findings: The willful violation was for failing to protect workers from cave-ins while working on a 7- to 8-foot-deep trench. The seven serious violations include failing to: provide protective helmets, provide a safe means to exit the trench, maintain excavation material at least two feet from the edge of the excavation, and create slopes or steps along the sides of the trench to prevent a collapse. Boyles Construction was also cited for failing to post an annual summary of work-related injuries and illnesses for 2015. The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration began its investigation following a report from the employer that a trench collapse had injured a worker who was installing a drainpipe.

Proposed penalties: $47,600

Quote: "A trench collapse can happen in a matter of seconds and can take a life just as quickly," said Carlos Reynolds, OSHA's area office director in Little Rock. "Fortunately, this collapse wasn't fatal, but there were still serious physical and financial consequences for the worker who was injured in the collapse. He needlessly suffered a number of broken bones because the company chose not to follow industry standard measures to prevent the collapse. OSHA will not tolerate such negligence."

Link to citations: http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/BoylesConstruction_1087084.pdf

Information: Boyles Construction, which specializes in drainpipe installations, has 15 business days from receipt of its citations to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director, or contest the citations and penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

To ask questions; obtain compliance assistance; file a complaint or report amputations, eye loss, workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency's Little Rock Area Office at 501-224-1841. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.