U.S. Department of Labor | Dec. 23, 2015
OSHA cites Lockhart Concrete after employees are observed working in unprotected trench. Akron concrete company cited for multiple safety hazards
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
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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.