ConDig (22-Jun-18).   A Florida-based utility contractor is facing a $18,659  fine by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for exposing workers to cave-in and other hazards at a Naples construction project.

The agency said that it cited Douglas N. Higgins Inc after allowing employees to work in a trench without cave-in protection and for failing to maintain a safety and health program on excavation hazards.

OSHA cited the contractor for violations in January 2017 when three employees succumbed to toxic gases while working in a manhole and again in May 2018 after a steel plate fell on and fatally injured an employee.

“Despite being recently cited for violations that contributed to four worker fatalities, this employer continues to disregard well-known safety and health requirements,” said Condell Eastmond, OSHA Fort Lauderdale area office director.

“Employers involved in excavation work must follow safety procedures to ensure that workers are properly protected from a trench collapse and other trench hazards.”

OSHA inspected the Naples worksite as part of the Agency’s National Emphasis Program on Trenching and Excavation.

Douglas N. Higgins has 15 business days from receipt of his citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings.

Earlier this month, a Wisconsin-based roofing contractor was hit with a $120,320 fine by OSHA for exposing workers to falls and other safety hazards at two Wisconsin construction sites.

A 2016 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released in December showed that the rate of fatal injuries in the construction industry increased 6% in 2016 to 991 worker deaths compared with 937 in 2015.

BLS figures showed that falls, struck by objects, electrocutions and caught-in/between accounted for 63.7% of all construction worker deaths in last year. There was a rise in total construction worker deaths for each of the “Fatal Four” in 2016.