Utility, paving contractor again willfully exposes workers to dangers of unprotected work in underground trenches at Harris County project site

Employer name: Angel Brothers Enterprises Ltd.

Inspection site: 2900 Sens Road, La Porte, Texas

Citations issued: May 09, 2016

Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a willful citation to Angel Brothers Enterprises Ltd. for exposing workers to trench hazards at its La Porte worksite. The investigation was initiated when Angel Brothers employees were seen working in an unprotected excavation site 9-feet deep as they installed storm sewers and adjusting existing underground utilities without any type of shoring, benching or sloping. The employer is under a contract with Harris County, Precinct 2. OSHA initiated the investigation under its National Emphasis Program for Trenching.

This is the sixth time since 2009 that OSHA has cited Angel Brothers. In five of those inspections, the agency issued citations to the company for allowing workers to enter an unprotected trench or excavation. The company has been cited both repeat and willful for this violation in the past.

Angel Brothers OSHA history is as follows:

Proposed Penalties: $70,000

Quote: “Angel Brothers is well aware of the dangers associated with trenching and of OSHA standards. There is absolutely no excuse for continuing to endanger its workers,” said Mark Briggs, OSHA’s area director in the Houston South office. “It is fortunate our compliance officer was able to catch the violations before someone was buried alive.”

Link to the citations: http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/AngelBrothersEnterprisesLtd_1112301.pdf.

Information: Angel Brothers Enterprises is a utility and paving contractor, primarily engaged in governmental work. The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the citations and penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

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 Houston South Area Office at 281-286-0583.