ConDig (25-May-18).  A Florida-based underground utility construction company is set to be hit with a $138,927 fine by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for exposing employees to cave-in hazards.

P&S Paving Inc, based in Daytona Beach, was cited after OSHA said it had allowed employees to work in a trench without cave-in protection.

The company was also cited for failing to train employees on trench hazards and provide a safe means to enter and exit the trench.

The investigation was part of OSHA’s National Emphasis Program on Trenching and Excavation.

“Disregarding recognized hazards can endanger workers’ safety,” said Brian Sturtecky, OSHA Jacksonville area office director.

“Employers performing trenching and excavation are required to use appropriate protective systems to prevent a serious or fatal cave-in.”

P&S Paving Inc has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings, according to the agency.

Earlier this month, OSHA said it was to fine All Power Construction Corp and staffing agency Labor Finders of Tennessee Inc over a trench collapse that killed a temporary employee installing sewer lines.

All Power Construction faces $139,684 in proposed penalties and Labor Finders of Tennessee faces the maximum allowed of $12,934 in proposed penalties.

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.