Plumbing and utility contractor faces fines after trench collapse
- OSHA found that Pyles Plumbing and Utility Contractors in Macon, Georgie failed to provide adequate trench shields and safe exit means from the trench box, leading to two willful violations that led to the death of a 20-year-old worker.
- The company also received three serious violations for allowing work in a trench with defective shields, lack of head protection, and insufficient employee hazard training.
- OSHA has proposed penalties totaling $308,125 against Pyles Plumbing and Utility Contractors;
- The incident occurred on August 10, 2023, and incited an OSHA investigation. Ultimately, the agency determined the plumbing contractor could have prevented the incident if it had followed mandatory safety measures.
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Pennsylvania manufacturer reaches settlement for OSHA violations
- The U.S. Department of Labor has reached a settlement to resolve litigation against a Pennsylvania manufacturer that followed a safety and health investigation.
- The investigation resulted in 17 affirmed violations of federal workplace safety standards at the Regal Industrial Corp. in Millville in 2022.
- The settlement between the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the company affirms four willful, 11 serious, and two other-than-serious citations — and proposed penalties of $299,000 —issued after a complaint investigation began on April 18, 2022.
- OSHA cited the company for failing to train employees on respirator use and for medical evaluations to determine if they were physically capable of wearing respirators and develop and implement a written hazard communication program, among other violations.
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OSHA levies fine after construction worker died in Texas
- OSHA fined a Corrigan plant in Texas for the death of a construction worker at the facility,
- The agency released a fatality report for the death of Samuel “Bryce” McKneely, 35, of Lufkin.
- According to the report the incident occurred on Sept. 27, 2023, when McKneely was doing contracted work and fell from a 70-foot-tall structure at the Corrigan OSB L.L.C., owned by Roy O. Martin.
- The citations levied at the company were for failing to use a danger sign for unsecured grating and open holes, failing to secure and support metal decking to prevent displacement properly, and failing to provide any protection from fall hazards while the employees were working near an unprotected elevation of 15 feet or more.
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Truck washing firm faces fines after gas leak injures workers
- Federal investigators determined a Liberal truck washing company failed to protect workers from hydrogen sulfide gas as they entered over-the-road tanker trailers to clean them out, causing one worker’s fatal injuries and hospitalizing two co-workers.
- OSHA found Red Barn Truck Wash & Service Center LLC failed to evaluate the tanker trailers for hazardous conditions and did not train workers on potential hazards before letting them enter the confined spaces, both violations of OSHA regulations.
- Inspectors found multiple violations of OSHA’s confined space regulations and noted Red Barn Truck Wash lacked both respiratory and hearing protection programs and exposed workers to fall hazards of up to nine feet while cleaning the trailers.
- OSHA cited the company for two willful and 24 serious violations and proposed $171,680 in penalties.
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