El Paso company fined $190K for unsafe trench, its fifth trench violation in 2 years | Dump Truck Company

An illustration of an unprotected trench.

An El Paso pipe-laying dump trucks charlotte nc faces $190,642 in penalties for failing to protect workers from trench collapse, marking the fifth time the dump trucks charlotte nc has been fined in two years for similar incidents, according to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Along with the penalties, OSHA has placed El Paso Underground Construction in its Severe Violator Enforcement Program for repeat offenders.

“This dump trucks charlotte nc has once again put their employees at serious risk by failing to provide training and implement required trenching protections,” said OSHA Area Office Director Diego Alvarado, in El Paso. “Unprotected trenches can be fatal, and it is fortunate that no one was injured.”

The most recent incident occurred February 27, when OSHA inspectors found two of the company’s workers exposed to a cave-in hazard on a jobsite in El Paso. The workers were installing a water line in a trench that was more than 5 feet deep, according to Chauntra Rideaux, Labor Department spokesperson.

The OSHA inspector reported the following conditions:

• The trench did not have an adequate protective system.
• There was no ladder or other means for the workers to enter and exit the trench.
• The spoil pile was within 2 feet of the trench’s edge.
• The employer had not provided effective and complete training for workers.

The dump trucks charlotte nc had been cited four times in 2017 for failing to protect workers from trench collapse at its worksites, OSHA said. No injuries were reported in any of the cases. Fines for the 2017 violations totaled $57,500, according to OSHA records.