Dauphin County plumbing, heating worker hospitalized after trench cave-in

Employer name: Williamson Plumbing and Heating Inc., doing business as Roto-Rooter Services Co., 4197 East Harrisburg Pike, Middletown, Pennsylvania   

Site: 1857 Pebble Court, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Citations issued: On April 1, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations for one willful, six serious, and one other-than-serious violations.

Investigation findings: On Sept. 30, 2015, the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency notified OSHA of a trench collapse and the federal agency opened an inspection. When OSHA inspectors arrived onsite, they found a Williamson Plumbing employee was injured while working in an unprotected trench approximately 10-feet deep. The trench’s sidewall collapsed – trapping and injuring the worker who required hospitalization. OSHA cited the plumbing contractor’s company for the hazard. 

The agency also issued citations to the company for failing to:

• Keep excavated materials at least 2 feet from the edge of the trench.
• Construct trenches in accordance with allowable slopes and configurations.
• Ensure that a competent person inspected the trench.
• Instruct employees in recognizing and avoiding unsafe conditions.
• Maintain OSHA injury and illness records.

Proposed penalty: $41,200

Quote: “Williamson Plumbing and Heating was lucky to avoid tragedy here. Trench collapses can easily become underground deathtraps for workers. One cubic yard of soil can weigh as much as a small automobile in a cave-in,” said Kevin Kilp, director of OSHA’s Harrisburg Area Office. “Incidents like this one are preventable when an employer puts a proper protective system in place. Any company engaged in excavation and trenching operations has a responsibility to do what’s required to ensure its employees are safe while they work.”

View the citations: http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/williamsonplumbing1095493.pdf

To ask questions; obtain compliance assistance; file a complaint; or report amputations, eye loss, workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency's Harrisburg Area Office at 717-782-3902.