Five contractors are responsible for a March 2018 bridge collapse at Florida International University, an OSHA investigation discovered.
The agency cited Figg Bridge Engineers Inc., Network Engineering Services Inc. (doing business as Bolton Perez & Assoc.), Structural Technologies LLC (doing business as Structural Technologies/VSL), Munilla Construction Management LLC, and The Structural Group of South Florida Inc. after six people were killed in the accident.
“Collectively, these employers failed to take appropriate action and provide the necessary protections to their employees while they were working on the bridge on the day it collapsed,” said OSHA Regional Administrator Kurt A. Petermeyer in a statement.
The agency uncovered seven violations, totaling $86,658 in penalties, that included exposing workers to rushing and fall hazards and allowing multiple employees to connect to an improperly installed lifeline, even though a potential bridge collapse was "evident."
News reports identified the victims of the collapse as Oswald Gonzalez, Alberto Arias, Rolando Fraga Hernandez, Navarro Brown, Alexa Duran and Brandon Brownfield.
The companies have 15 business days from receipt of the citations and proposed 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.