News
Release No.: 2017-35
Date: May 9, 2017
Cal/OSHA Cites Two Employers for Fatal Drainage Shaft
Accident
Los
Angeles—Cal/OSHA
has cited two companies $352,570 for multiple workplace safety and health
violations, including ten serious and three willful category violations,
following an incident in which a worker lowered into a 50-foot drainage shaft
fell to his death. Neither D&D Construction Specialties, Inc. nor Tyler
Development, Inc. followed permit required confined space procedures to work in
confined spaces. Cal/OSHA in
2012 cited D&D Construction, Inc. for violating similar safety orders
at a different construction site.
General contractor Tyler
Development was constructing a single-family residence in the Bel Air area and
hired subcontractor D&D Construction to install and service reinforced
concrete posts known as caissons[1] on the
property. On October 21, 2016, a D&D Construction worker entered the
drainage shaft, which was 4.5-feet in diameter and lined with concrete, to
clean out mud and debris. He stood inside a bucket attached to a mini crawler crane
with no personal fall protection. After descending 10 feet into the shaft, the
worker lost consciousness due to the oxygen deficient atmosphere, fell
approximately 40 feet and drowned in one foot of water.
“Cal/OSHA launched a
confined space educational program to bring attention to the dangers and
preventable deaths that occur in confined spaces,” said Cal/OSHA Chief Juliann
Sum. “The program helps employers identify hazards and create effective
safety plans that include air monitoring, rescue procedures and training before
work begins.”
Cal/OSHA cited D&D
Construction $337,700 for 13 violations, including two willful serious
accident-related, one willful serious, one serious accident-related, six
serious, and three general in nature. The accident-related violations were
cited for the company’s failure to:
- ensure safe entry into the confined space,
- have an effective method to rescue the worker in the confined space in an emergency, and
- test the environment to determine if additional protective equipment, such as a respirator or oxygen tank, were required to work safely in the shaft.
Tyler
was cited $14,870 for five violations, three of them classified as serious
violations, for the employer’s failure to:
- evaluate the worksite for possible permit-required confined spaces,
- ensure that the subcontractor meets all requirements to comply with a permit space program, and
- protect workers from the hazard of impalement by guarding all exposed reinforced steel ends that extend up to six feet above the work surface with protective covers.
Confined
spaces are defined as large enough for workers to enter, but have limited
openings for exit and entry, with a potential for hazards related to the atmosphere
and space. They are found in multiple industries, and include water and sewer
pipes, boilers, silos, kilns, vaults, tunnels and pumping stations.
In 2011, there were seven
confined space fatalities in California. In two of the incidents, rescue was
attempted by co-workers without proper evacuation training, resulting in the
death of one worker and serious injuries to two workers. In response, Cal/OSHA
launched a confined
space emphasis program in 2012 to raise awareness of these hazards and
ensure employers follow proper safeguards. This safety program includes
training in identifying hazards, creating a safety plan and rescue procedures.
A willful violation is issued
where evidence shows that the employer committed an intentional and knowing
violation—as distinguished from inadvertent, accidental or ordinarily
negligent—and the employer is conscious of the fact that what they are doing
constitutes a violation, or is aware that a hazardous condition exists and no
reasonable effort was made to eliminate the hazard.
A serious violation is cited
when there is a realistic possibility that death or serious harm
could result from the actual
hazardous condition.
Cal/OSHA helps protect
workers from safety and health hazards on the job in almost every workplace in
California. Cal/OSHA’s
Consultation Services Branch provides free and voluntary assistance to employers
to improve their safety and health programs. Employers should call (800)
963-9424 for assistance from Cal/OSHA Consultation Services. Cal/OSHA has also
published a wealth of helpful
guides for employers and workers.
[1] A caisson
is a reinforced concrete pile or post that transfers the load
(weight) of the home directly to bedrock.
D & D Construction Specialties, Inc.
Sun Valley, California 91352
(818) 767-8864
D & D Construction Specialties, Inc. specializes in limited & no access hillside foundations & tough hand excavations.
Our other services include caissons, soldier piles, shoring systems, test pits/borings, foundations, grade beams, underpinnings/pads, all structural concrete, retaining walls, footings and slope repairs.
We have drill rigs, production rigs, hard rock rigs, low overhead rigs for hillside/limited access/flat reach rigs & hollow stems.
We have served California since 1993.
Our other services include caissons, soldier piles, shoring systems, test pits/borings, foundations, grade beams, underpinnings/pads, all structural concrete, retaining walls, footings and slope repairs.
We have drill rigs, production rigs, hard rock rigs, low overhead rigs for hillside/limited access/flat reach rigs & hollow stems.
We have served California since 1993.