The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Gershenson Construction company for 11 safety violations. These violations are comprised of 1 willful and 10 serious violations, and are from hazards relating to trench cave-in and a lack of protection for workers from struck-by injuries. These citations come with $110,400 in proposed penalties.

“Failing to protect workers from struck-by hazards and allowing employees to work in a trench without protective systems is inexcusable and will not be tolerated,” said Larry Davidson, OSHA’s acting area director in St. Louis. “Being struck-by vehicles and other objects is a leading cause of construction-related injuries and deaths. Gershenson Construction has a responsibility to protect workers from known hazards in the construction industry.”

The willful violation was issued for failing to ensure workers were protected from cave-in hazards while working in a trench that exceeded a depth of 5 feet. The ten serious violations were issued for exposing workers to the hazards of being struck-by a partially suspended load; lack of adequate and frequent inspections of the work site for hazards; inadequate training of employees; lack of head protection; use of damaged rigging equipment; lack of permanently affixed legible identification markings on rigging equipment; and allowing an excavator to operate within 10 feet of energized, overhead power lines.

If you are in the construction industry and are not sure your procedures relating to struck-by and cave-in hazards are up-to-code, it might be time to have your health and safety procedures properly audited by a qualified third party occupational safety and health auditing firm. It could mean the difference between a safe work environment for your employees and a potentially deadly one.

If you have any questions about third party safety audits, please contact us. If you have anything to add about this investigation or the need for third party safety audits, please leave a comment.