Voice your opinion!
Voice your opinion!
On Oct. 21, 2016, a D&D Construction employee entered a drainage shaft to clean out mud and debris.
No personal fall protection was utilized as the worker descended via bucket 10 ft. into the shaft, which was 4.5 ft. in diameter and lined with concrete.
At some point, the worker lost consciousness due to the oxygen deficient atmosphere in the confined space and fell 40 ft., then drowned in a foot of water.
“Cal/OSHA launched a confined space educational program to bring attention to the dangers and preventable deaths that occur in confined spaces,” said Cal/OSHA Chief Juliann Sum in a statement. “The program helps employers identify hazards and create effective safety plans that include air monitoring, rescue procedures and training before work begins.”
General contractor Tyler Development was constructing a single-family residence in the Bel Air area and hired subcontracted D&D Construction to install and service reinforced concrete posts known as caissons1 on the property, according to the agency’s report.
The state-run occupational safety unit cited Tyler Development and D&D Construction Specialties Inc. a combined $352,570 for ten serious and willful health and safety violations following an investigation. Cal/OSHA said neither company was in compliance with required confined space procedures.
D&D Construction previously was cited in 2012 for similar safety violations at a different job site.
In total, D&D has to pay a proposed $337,700 for 13 violations, including two willful serious accident-related, one willful serious, one serious accident-related, six serious, and three general in nature.
According to Cal/OSHA, the company failed to:
Tyler Development was cited $14,870 for five violations, three of them serious, for a failure to:
A full copy of the report is available here.