Employers name: Landfried Paving Inc., 172 Crestview Drive, Greenville, Pennsylvania
Inspection site: 200 Mulberry St., Meadville, Pennsylvania
Citations issued: On March 22, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations for one willful violation and two serious violations.
Investigation findings: On Oct. 1, 2015, OSHA opened an inspection after the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection notified the agency of hazardous conditions at the construction site of a new parking garage, where the company was installing drainage catch basins. OSHA investigators found Landfried exposed workers to the risk of a cave-in for four days while they installed drainage catch basins. Workers were inside an unprotected excavation at least seven-feet deep with steep, vertical walls. The company was cited for these hazards.
Proposed penalties: $18,800
Quote: "Landfried Paving exposed its employees to dangerous excavation hazards that could have been deadly in a cave-in. Without the proper protection, a trench can quickly become a grave for workers," said Theresa A. Naim, director of OSHA's Erie Area Office. "OSHA will not tolerate when an employer's fails to ensure the safety and health of its employees."
View the citations: http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/Landfried_Paving_INC_1096939_03_16_2106.pdf
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 Erie Area Office at 814-874-5150.
