OSHA initiated an investigation at Henkels & McCoy Inc.’s Bayonne, N.J., worksite under its national emphasis program on trenching and excavation and proposed $70,000 in penalties. Workers in an 11-foot deep trench were working without the proper protection and exposed to struck-by and crushing injuries from a potential cave-in.
The same violation was cited against the company in 2011. A repeat violation is issued when an employer previously has been cited for the same or a similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last 5 years.
“This company has a responsibility to ensure that workers are properly protected from known workplace hazards, such as trench cave-ins, a leading cause of death and injury in excavation work,” said Kris Hoffman, director of OSHA’s Parsippany Area Office. “OSHA will continue to hold employers accountable when they fail to protect their workers.”
Detailed information on trenching and excavation safety is available at http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/trenchingexcavation/index.html.
Henkels & McCoy Inc. has 15 business days from receipt of the citations to comply, request an informal conference with Hoffman or contest the citations and proposed penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.