While inspecting the site, OSHA found that two trenches—including the one in which the injured employee was working—lacked cave-in protection, as neither had a trench box or shield system.
Construction falls and trench collapses might occur at any time during the year, but they typically peak during the summer.
NIOSH, BLS, and several state agencies analyzed Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses 2009 data and found length of absences from work increased steadily with age and was highest for the oldest workers.
"Eliminating safety barriers and failing to develop emergency plans because they are inconvenient or time-consuming is no excuse for endangering employees," said William Fulcher, director of OSHA's Atlanta-East Area Office.
OSHA has issued the company 13 safety citations for failing to provide fall protection and implement water safety procedures for workers sandblasting and painting the Interstate 75 Disalle Bridge more than 40 feet above the Maumee River.
Violations include exposing workers to combustible dust, fall and electrical hazards, among others.
Loads that are improperly rigged can expose workers to hazards including falls, electric shock, amputation, and being crushed by objects.
OSHA cited the company for 12 serious and one repeat violation after an inspection identified two incidents of anhydrous ammonia release, an absence of fall protection, the employer's failure to implement an emergency response plan, and other workplace hazards.
And the panel's reasoning in the April 7 decision offers support for the hearing protection reinterpretation OSHA recently withdrew.
OSHA initiated an inspection on Oct. 21, 2011, in response to a complaint alleging that the employer had not abated safety and health violations cited on July 14, 2010.
Directed primarily to those working on new construction, the document describes safety methods employers can implement during stages of construction.
“Opening the top half of a double-hung window to let in a cool breeze and keeping the bottom closed can literally save a life," said Donna Stein-Harris, senior director of Safe Communities America for NSC.
Black Roofing Inc. won first place in the Steep Slope category of Sika Sarnafil's annual Roofing Contractor Project of the Year competition for reroofing the Denver Art Museum.
Specific violations cited by OSHA included workers being hoisted on the load hook of an overhead crane, an improperly designed combustible dust collection system, and a lack of personal protective equipment.
With the reduction in size and weight comes a reduction in price, making PFLs more affordable than ever.
A refueling system installed at the Marine Corps' Camp Lejeune used aluminum safety enclosures to provide fall protection for operators during refueling and adjustable chain stops for extra sturdiness.
The company faces penalties totaling $45,000 as a result of an OSHA inspection conducted in October 2010.
OSHA issued the citations after an inspection of the company's facility identified a potential release of anhydrous ammonia and other workplace hazards.
OSHA opened its inspection of A.C. Castle Construction upon observing employees working without fall protection on the building's roof and on a ladder jack scaffold, exposing them to falls of nearly 19 feet.
In September 2010, a worker with The Warehouse Co., a subcontractor of Winter Park Construction Co., fell approximately 21 feet to a concrete surface while passing furniture from a debris container mounted on the forks of a powered industrial truck.