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| News Release from
OSHA
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OSHA
Regional News Release
U.S.
Department of Labor Region 1
Office of Public Affairs
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Region 1 News Release: BOS 2000-165
Friday, November 3, 2000
Contact: Ted Fitzgerald
PHONE: (617) 565-2074
Nearly $60,000 in Penalties Proposed
OSHA CITES THREE CONTRACTORS FOLLOWING SEPTEMBER 28 WORKER
DEATH AT FRANKLIN, MASS., CONSTRUCTION SITE
The U.S. Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) has cited three contractors for alleged Serious violations of the
Occupational Safety and Health Act following the death of a
worker at a Franklin, Mass., construction site and has
proposed total penalties of $59,500 against the three
employers.
On September 28, 2000, an employee was
killed when he was struck by a backhoe which rolled into an
excavation in which he was working at a construction site.
According to Brenda Gordon, OSHA area director for
Southeastern Massachusetts, OSHA's inspection identified several
serious safety hazards which contributed to the accident:
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the parking brake on the backhoe had not been set when it
was parked at the edge of the excavation
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a barricade or stop blocks had not been utilized when the
backhoe approached and operated in close proximity to the
excavation
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employees were working in the excavation while it was
being backfilled by the backhoe
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employees had not been instructed to recognize unsafe
conditions and hazards associated with work in and around
excavations and heavy equipment
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backhoe operators had not been trained in all aspects of
backhoe operations and applicable regulations
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daily inspections that would have identified these hazards
had not been conducted by a competent person (one with both
the knowledge to identify hazards and the authority to
correct them).
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"Construction work is, by its very nature, hazardous and
that makes it imperative that appropriate safeguards be
supplied," said Gordon. "That can be clearly seen in
this case. Had these required precautions been taken, this
accident and this death would not have occurred."
Specifically, the citations and proposed fines against each
employer are as follows:
| The contractor
which supplied and operated the backhoe, faces $23,100 in
fines for five alleged Serious violations, for:
- failure to train each employee in all aspects of backhoe
operation and applicable regulations;
- the backhoe was parked at the edge of the excavation
without its parking brake being set;
- a barricade or stop blocks were not utilized where the
backhoe approached the excavation;
- employees were working in an excavation while the backhoe
was filling it;
- failure to supply a competent person to conduct daily
inspections for hazardous conditions. |
| A construction contractor,
faces $20,650 in fines for five alleged
Serious violations for:
- failure to instruct each employee in the recognition of
unsafe conditions and the hazards associated with working in
and around excavations and heavy equipment;
- employees allowed to work in an excavation while it was
being filled by a backhoe;
- a barricade or stop blocks were not utilized where a
backhoe approached the edge of an excavation;
- failure to provide a competent person to conduct daily
inspections for evidence of a hazardous situation;
- employees were not wearing head protection. |
| The project's general
contractor, faces $15,750 in fines for four
alleged Serious violations, for:
- employees allowed to work in an excavation while it was
being filled by a backhoe;
- employees were not wearing head protection;
- a barricade or stop blocks were not utilized where the
backhoe approached the excavation.
- failure to supply a competent person to conduct daily
inspection of the excavation for hazardous conditions. |
Gordon urged Southeastern Massachusetts employers and
employees with questions regarding workplace safety and health
standards to contact the OSHA area office in Braintree at
617-565-6924 and added that OSHA's toll-free, nationwide hotline
-- 1-800-321-OSHA (1-800-321-6742) -- may be used to
report workplace accidents or fatalities or situations posing
imminent danger to workers, especially if they occur outside of
normal business hours.
A serious violation is defined by OSHA as one in which there
is a substantial probability that death or serious physical harm
could result, and the employer knew, or should have known, of
the hazard.
OSHA is empowered by the Occupational Safety and Health Act
of 1970 to issue standards and rules requiring employers to
provide their employees with safe and healthful workplaces and
jobsites, and to assure through workplace inspections that those
standards are followed.
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