Modern Contractor Solutions February 2025 - 35

federal workplace safety investigation has found a Glenburn
general contractor's decisions to ignore an onsite expert's
repeated warnings and the company's own site-specific safety
plan led to a fatal incident in June 2024. An employee suffered fatal
crushing injuries when an unbraced retaining wall collapsed at a
Brownville worksite.
The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health
Administration determined two workers employed by Patriot Paving
Group LLC were installing storm drainage pipes in a three-to-four-footdeep
trench. At the same time, company owner, Clifford Lane, used
an excavator near the retaining wall's base, which destabilized it and
caused a 40-to-60-foot-long section of the wall to tip over. One worker
escaped but the other worker suffered fatal injuries.
OSHA investigators determined Lane knew the wall next to the
trench was unstable, but did not use necessary protective systems
or evacuate employees. The continuing excavation created clear and
imminent dangers.
A
a potential for a collapse in virtually all excavations. [54 FR 45894,
45895, 45927]
B. Trenching and excavation work exposes workers to extremely
dangerous hazards. According to the Census of Fatal Occupational
Injuries data, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), there
were 130 fatalities recorded in trenching and excavation operations
between 2011 and 2016. The private construction industry accounted
for 80 percent, or 104, of those fatalities. An alarming 49 percent of
those construction fatalities occurred between 2015 and 2016. In
summary, of the 104 fatalities in this industry:
1. 40 (38%) were at industrial places and premises;
2. 39 (38%) were at private residences; and
3. 21 (20%) occurred at streets or highways.
WILLFUL VIOLATIONS
After its investigation, OSHA cited the company for five willful violations
and proposed penalties of $161,325 for the following conditions:
* Not bracing the retaining wall and exposing employees to struckby
and/or caught between hazards.
* Failing to remove employees from the trench after it was
determined to be hazardous.
* Not training or instructing three employees in the hazards
associated with trench activities.
" The warnings were clear, yet Clifford Lane chose to ignore them,
putting progress before safety and putting employees directly in harm's
way, " says OSHA Area Director Samuel Kondrup in Augusta, Maine.
" There is no excuse for so callously endangering workers' lives. "
Patriot Paving Group LLC is a site preparation and general contractor
specializing in residential and commercial paving, excavation, and
stormwater drainage work.
The company is given 15 business days from receipt of its citations
and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with
OSHA's area director, or contest the findings before the independent
Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
EDUCATION AND TRAINING
OSHA is currently implementing a National Emphasis Program in
Trenching and Excavation focusing on enforcement and education
to identify and reduce hazards that pose a risk of serious injuries or
fatalities in these operations:
A. Because of the continuing incidence of trench/excavation
collapses and accompanying loss of life, the agency has determined
that these worksites continue to warrant an increased enforcement
presence. OSHA has long maintained that employees exposed to
potential cave-ins must be protected before the excavation face is
in imminent danger of collapse, because OSHA believes that there is
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FEBRUARY 2025
35
C. OSHA believes that the rate of deaths and serious injuries resulting
from trenching and excavation incidents (mostly collapses) can be
significantly reduced if OSHA concentrates resources to effectively
engage trenching and excavation operations through both enforcement
and compliance assistance activities.
for more information
For more, visit www.osha.gov.
http://www.osha.gov https://www.lbwhite.com/find-dealer http://www.mcsmag.com
Modern Contractor Solutions February 2025

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