By Morgan Eads
meads@herald-leader.com
An inspection following a Lexington trench collapse that killed a construction worker in May found five serious violations, resulting in penalties of $28,000, according to a report on the website of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Samuel Tyler Williams, 22, of Frenchburg was killed May 4 when the trench he was working in near Todds Road and Hays Boulevard collapsed. Williams died of asphyxiation after being completely covered by dirt and gravel.
The report lists L-M Asphalt Partners Ltd., doing business as ATS Construction, as being the subject of the inspection.
The violations had to do with the inspecting of an excavation; the wearing of a helmet; having a properly placed stairway, ladder or ramp into a trench 4 feet deep or deeper; properly protecting employees from materials that could fall into a trench; and precautions against a trench caving in, according to the online report.
Each violation had a penalty cost of $5,600 listed, with a total penalty of $28,000.
Part Number:
| 1926 | |
| • Part Title: | Safety and Health Regulations for Construction |
| • Subpart: | P |
| • Subpart Title: | Excavations |
| • Standard Number: | 1926.651 |
| • Title: | Specific Excavation Requirements. |
| • GPO Source: | e-CFR |
Surface encumbrances. All surface encumbrances that are located so as to create a hazard to employees shall be removed or supported, as necessary, to safeguard employees.1926.651(c)(2)
Means of egress from trench excavations. A stairway, ladder, ramp or other safe means of egress shall be located in trench excavations that are 4 feet (1.22 m) or more in depth so as to require no more than 25 feet (7.62 m) of lateral travel for employees.1926.651(j)(2)
Employees shall be protected from excavated or other materials or equipment that could pose a hazard by falling or rolling into excavations. Protection shall be provided by placing and keeping such materials or equipment at least 2 feet (.61 m) from the edge of excavations, or by the use of retaining devices that are sufficient to prevent materials or equipment from falling or rolling into excavations, or by a combination of both if necessary.1926.651(k)(1)
Daily inspections of excavations, the adjacent areas, and protective systems shall be made by a competent person for evidence of a situation that could result in possible cave-ins, indications of failure of protective systems, hazardous atmospheres, or other hazardous conditions. An inspection shall be conducted by the competent person prior to the start of work and as needed throughout the shift. Inspections shall also be made after every rainstorm or other hazard increasing occurrence. These inspections are only required when employee exposure can be reasonably anticipated.1926.652(a)(1)
Each employee in an excavation shall be protected from cave-ins by an adequate protective system designed in accordance with paragraph (b) or (c) of this section
.1926.652(b)
1926.652(b)
Design of sloping and benching systems. The slopes and configurations of sloping and benching systems shall be selected and constructed by the employer or his designee and shall be in accordance with the requirements of paragraph (b)(1); or, in the alternative, paragraph (b)(2); or, in the alternative, paragraph (b)(3); or, in the alternative, paragraph (b)(4), as follows:1926.652(b)(1)
Option (1) - Allowable configurations and slopes.1926.652(b)(1)(i)
Excavations shall be sloped at an angle not steeper than one and one-half horizontal to one vertical (34 degrees measured from the horizontal), unless the employer uses one of the other options listed below.1926.652(b)(1)(ii)
Slopes specified in paragraph (b)(1)(i) of this section, shall be excavated to form configurations that are in accordance with the slopes shown for Type C soil in Appendix B to this subpart.1926.652(b)(2)
Option (2) - Determination of slopes and configurations using Appendices A and B. Maximum allowable slopes, and allowable configurations for sloping and benching systems, shall be determined in accordance with the conditions and requirements set forth in appendices A and B to this subpart.1926.652(b)(3)
Option (3) - Designs using other tabulated data.1926.652(b)(3)(i)
Designs of sloping or benching systems shall be selected from and in accordance with tabulated data, such as tables and charts.1926.652(b)(3)(ii)
The tabulated data shall be in written form and shall include all of the following:..1926.652(b)(3)(ii)(A)
1926.652(b)(3)(ii)(A)
Identification of the parameters that affect the selection of a sloping or benching system drawn from such data;1926.652(b)(3)(ii)(B)
Identification of the limits of use of the data, to include the magnitude and configuration of slopes determined to be safe;1926.652(b)(3)(ii)(C)
Explanatory information as may be necessary to aid the user in making a correct selection of a protective system from the data.1926.652(b)(3)(iii)
At least one copy of the tabulated data which identifies the registered professional engineer who approved the data, shall be maintained at the jobsite during construction of the protective system. After that time the data may be stored off the jobsite, but a copy of the data shall be made available to the Secretary upon request.1926.652(b)(4)
Option (4) - Design by a registered professional engineer.1926.652(b)(4)(i)
Sloping and benching systems not utilizing Option (1) or Option (2) or Option (3) under paragraph (b) of this section shall be approved by a registered professional engineer.1926.652(b)(4)(ii)
Designs shall be in written form and shall include at least the following:1926.652(b)(4)(ii)(A)
The magnitude of the slopes that were determined to be safe for the particular project;..1926.652(b)(4)(ii)(B)
1926.652(b)(4)(ii)(B)
The configurations that were determined to be safe for the particular project;1926.652(b)(4)(ii)(C)
The identity of the registered professional engineer approving the design.1926.652(b)(4)(iii)
At least one copy of the design shall be maintained at the jobsite while the slope is being constructed. After that time the design need not be at the jobsite, but a copy shall be made available to the Secretary upon request.1926.652(c)
Design of support systems, shield systems, and other protective systems. Designs of support systems, shield systems, and other protective systems shall be selected and constructed by the employer or his designee and shall be in accordance with the requirements of paragraph (c)(1); or, in the alternative, paragraph (c)(2); or, in the alternative, paragraph (c)(3); or, i the alternative, paragraph (c)(4) as follows:1926.652(c)(1)
Option (1) - Designs using appendices A, C and D. Designs for timber shoring in trenches shall be determined in accordance with the conditions and requirements set forth in appendices A and C to this subpart. Designs for aluminum hydraulic shoring shall be in accordance with paragraph (c)(2) of this section, but if manufacturer's tabulated data cannot be utilized, designs shall be in accordance with appendix D.
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A construction worker died Wednesday after a trench collapsed on Todds Road near Hays Boulevard. cbertram@herald-leader.com
By Michael McKay
mmckay@herald-leader.com
A construction worker was killed Wednesday when the trench he was working in collapsed next to Todds Road near Hays Boulevard.
Samuel Tyler Williams, 22, of Frenchburg was completely covered by dirt and gravel in the 16-foot trench when emergency workers arrived about 9:40 a.m., Assistant Fire Chief Harold Hoskins said. Dozens of firefighters worked to try to free him.
Williams, a married father of three, died of asphyxiation, Fayette County Coroner Gary Ginn said. An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday in Frankfort at the state medical examiner’s Office. Ginn said autopsies are standard in work-related deaths.
Fire department spokeswoman Jessica Bowman said the investigation would be turned over to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which arrived about 11: 45 a.m. OSHA investigates workplace deaths.
Hoskins said investigators would look at the soil and the structure of the trench to ensure that another collapse wouldn’t happen.
“This is a very complicated operation,” he said.
The trench appeared to be between a retaining wall and the pavement of Todds Road.
The work is part of a state transportation project to widen Todds Road.
This phase includes widening the road, and adding curbs and other improvements on Todds Road from the entrance of the Andover Forest neighborhood to just past Interstate 75. Construction began in October 2015 on the $9.9 million road widening project.
Natasha Lacy, a spokeswoman for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet District 7 office, said Kentucky Transportation officials were on the scene immediately after the accident.
“The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet extends our sincere thoughts and prayers to the family, friends and coworkers of the employee,” Lacy said. “Safety personnel from KYTC District 7 office in Lexington were on the scene immediately after being notified. A preliminary investigation is under way.”
Lacy said state OSHA officials were overseeing the investigation. Transportation officials did not release the name of the contractor employing Williams.
