Inspection Detail

Inspection: 307279901 - Paul'S Utility Company, Inc

Inspection Information - Office: Department Of Labor, Licensing, And Regulation Division Of Labor And Industry Maryland Occupational Safety And Health

Investigation Summary

At approximately 11:00 a.m. on January 29, 2004, a six-man work crew was installing and realigning new sewage pipes for the construction of a new manhole in a housing development. The excavation for the manhole was dug out, measuring 50-feet long, 12.5-feet to 14.5-feet deep and 167-inches wide, and a section of sewer pipe was installed. Following the pipe installation a trench box was placed in the excavation, but incorrectly. The trench box was leaning to one side with the bottom approximately 4 feet to 4.5 feet above the floor of the excavation. The trench box was removed and a ladder was placed at the northeast end of the excavation. With the trench box removed, there was no shoring or any other type of protection to prevent a cave-in. Additionally, a Rammax compacting machine was located in the excavation near the ladder and a pump was removing water from the west end of the excavation. One of the crewmembers remained in the excavation to check the grade while digging was going on at the west end of the excavation, which needed to be 2 feet below the sewer pipes so that stone could be placed under the remaining sections of piping. The Foreman, who was operating the crawler backhoe for digging, was in the cab of the vehicle, looking down at the excavation. He briefly exited the cab to instruct Employee #1 to retrieve a saw and wait for further instructions. The Foreman returned to the cab of the crawler and before he could dig out the next bucket of soil, Employee #1 climbed down the ladder located in the excavation, carrying a saw. He was walking along the south wall of the excavation, where an old manhole that was to be removed was located, when a large clump of soil dislodged from the middle of the south wall and fell approximately 2 feet striking Employee #1 on the left side of his neck, as well as shoulder and arm. He was not wearing a hard hat. A coworker placed him in the bucket of the crawler backhoe and he was lifted out of the excavation. Emergency services were contacted and Employee #1 was hospitalized at a trauma center and treated for lacerations, sprains, and strains to the left side of his neck, arm, and shoulder. An investigation revealed that a soil pile was located at the edge of the excavation, along the south wall section and the walls of the excavation had various areas with multiple cracks.

Keywords: SEWER, EXCAVATION, HARD HAT, SHOULDER, WALL, COLLAPSE, NECK, STRUCK BY, ARM, CAVE-IN