Wednesday, December 3, 2003
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Wednesday, December 3, 2003 |
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F’ville builder faces $75,000 fine for trench safety rule violation By JOHN THOMPSON Is Big Government coming down unfairly on a Fayetteville business? The U.S. Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Fayetteville’s Brent Scarborough and Company for repeatedly and willfully exposing employees to trenching hazards. The agency is proposing $75,000 in total penalties. But Frank James, who is Scarborough’s safety director, said everything is not as it seems. OSHA officials said they began an inspection Oct. 1, after an inspector observed workers installing sewer pipes in a 12-foot-deep, improperly shored trench at a Newnan subdivision construction site. The agency has a national emphasis program that allows immediate inspection of a site when trenching hazards are observed. “Unprotected trenches can collapse without warning, trapping or killing workers, and employers must take steps to protect workers and prevent such incidents,” said Andre Richards, OSHA’s Atlanta-West area director. James said the company was working at the subdivision site with a pre-existing manhole and did indeed dig a trench. But the foreman went to get the trench box to place in the 12-foot deep trench and told everybody “to stay out,” James said. “One of the workers jumped down in the hole, and was immediately ordered out,” James explained. “The worker jumped back out, and that’s when OSHA pulled up and saw footprints in the trench,” he said. James said the worker was wrong to get in the trench, and said the company is actively appealing the proposed penalties. “We have had no reportable injuries in the last three years and we’re one of the three safest contractors in the state,” James said. Scarborough’s company received one willful citation with a proposed penalty of $50,000 for allegedly failing to adequately and properly slope a trench. OSHA officials said the company had received several citations previously at other construction sites for similar violations. The agency also issued one repeat citation with a proposed penalty of $25,000 for alleged failure to have a designated competent person inspect the trench and surrounding area to be sure that adequate protection systems were in place before allowing workers to enter. An inspection would have shown the condition of the soil, recently excavated areas near the trench, and the lack of proper shoring and sloping, all factors that lead to cave-ins. OSHA issues a willful citation when an employer has intentional disregarded or shown plain indifference to the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and regulations. A repeat citation is issued when an employer has been cited previously for a substantially similar condition and the citation has become a final order of the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. The company has 15 working days to contest the recent citations and proposed penalties before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. Inspection of the Newnan Crossings work site was conducted by OSHA’s Atlanta-West area office located in Smyrna. Richards pointed out that the area office has a compliance assistance program, separate from its enforcement program, to help employers comply with trenching and excavation standards. OSHA is dedicated to assuring workers’ safety and health. Safety and health add value to business, the workplace and life. For more information, visit the agency website at www.osha.gov.
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