U.S. Department of Labor
January 12, 2017
Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Kempf Construction, a Sioux Falls excavating contractor, for five serious
safety violations after the agency's investigators found a 40-year-old
equipment operator suffered severe injuries while working in a
16-foot-deep trench on Oct. 28, 2016. A large amount of dirt fell into a
trench box in which the man was working and collapsed upon him. The
worker was installing sewer lines at a site in Brandon, South Dakota.
OSHA found Kempf Construction failed to:
Background: OSHA has a national emphasis program on trenching and excavations. Trenching standards require protective systems in trenches deeper than 5 feet, and soil and other materials kept at least two feet from the edge of trench.
Proposed Penalties: $40,538.
View Citations here.
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 Sioux Falls Area Office at 605-251-2021.
January 12, 2017
OSHA cites Sioux Falls company after 40-year-old equipment operator
suffers serious injuries in trench cave-in at Brandon work site
More than 22 killed in trench incidents in 2016
suffers serious injuries in trench cave-in at Brandon work site
More than 22 killed in trench incidents in 2016
- Employer name:
- Kempf Construction Inc.
- Sioux Falls, South Dakota
OSHA found Kempf Construction failed to:
- Protect employees working in a trench.
- Failed to slope sides of trench in accordance with OSHA standards.
- Properly place a ladder used to access the trench box.
- Remove employees from the trench when hazardous conditions were apparent.
- Provide sanitary facilities on the job site.
Background: OSHA has a national emphasis program on trenching and excavations. Trenching standards require protective systems in trenches deeper than 5 feet, and soil and other materials kept at least two feet from the edge of trench.
Proposed Penalties: $40,538.
View Citations here.
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 Sioux Falls Area Office at 605-251-2021.
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