U.S. Department of Labor | Dec. 23, 2015
Employer name: Lockhart Concrete Company, Akron, Ohio
Citations issued: Dec. 15, 2015
Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Cleveland Area Office cited the company for two willful and two serious safety violations.
OSHA initiated an inspection after receiving a complaint that three employees were working inside three trenches of up to 8 feet deep without cave-in protection while installing utility and water connections at a Stow construction site.
Investigators also found the following:
* Workers had a lack of access and egress while working in multiple trenches.
* Protective helmets were not provided.
* Employees were allowed to work under equipment as sand was being dumped into the trench.
Quote: "An unprotected trench can bury a worker in seconds and cause severe or fatal injuries," said Howard Eberts, OSHA's area director in Cleveland. "Lockhart Concrete knows that every trench deeper than 5 feet must have cave-in protection."
Proposed Penalties: $93,940
View Citations here: *
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 Cleveland Area Office at (216) 447-4194.
