Federal workplace safety officials have proposed $210,037 in penalties against a Missouri contractor protect employees from trench collapse and electrical hazards.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspectors observed workers exposed to trenching and excavation hazards while installing water lines at a Kansas City, Missouri, job site in May 2019. Blue Nile Contractors Inc., based in Birmingham, Missouri, was cited for four repeat and five serious safety violations of trenching and electrical hazards, and placed in the agency’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program.
OSHA recently updated the National Emphasis Program on preventing trenching and excavation collapses, and developed a series of compliance assistance resources to help keep workers safe from these hazards. The agency’s trenching and excavation webpage provides additional information on trenching hazards and solutions. The page includes a trenching operations QuickCard on protecting workers around trenches, and the “Protect Workers in Trenches” poster that provides a quick reminder of the three ways to prevent trench collapses.
The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
Source: OSHA
Topics Commercial Lines Workers' Compensation Business Insurance Missouri Contractors
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