Inspection at the
Richland Correctional Institute finds Guenther deep in Fines
Trenches and excavations are some of the most dangerous areas on a
construction job site. Every year, the evening news will feature the
heartbreaking story of a construction worker who was crushed when a trench
collapsed on him. Despite these constant reminders of the dangers of working
in excavated areas, OSHA inspectors discovered many violations by Guenther
when they inspected a prison construction job on the grounds of the Richland
Correctional Institute in Mansfield, Ohio. OSHA discovered that Guenther
allowed two of its employees to be exposed to a serious risk of injury or
death during their work on a 15-foot deep trench, which was dug for a sewer
line. The foreman on the job was not even competent, OSHA stated, to inspect
the trench and related excavations or to ensure the site was safe.
One method of preventing injuries at excavation sites is to use a trench
"shield." This is an engineered "box," usually constructed of heavy gauge
steel, to shield workers from being crushed if a trench collapsed. Guenther
did have a trench shield on the site, but it was "homemade" according to the
OSHA inspection report. The homemade shield had never been tested and was
not designed by a professional engineer, as required by health and safety
regulations.
OSHA also discovered that Guenther failed to have a first aid kit on the
site. Guenther’s explanation was that they just never got around to bringing
one. OSHA’s review showed that Guenther failed to keep on-site records of
its accidents and injuries. OSHA then ordered Guenther to produce accident
records going back three years. Those records show that Guenther had a
staggering rate of accidents.
In the most recent year studied sixteen of Guenther’s 70 to 90 employees
had been injured. This is a rate of 18 to 23 injuries per 100 employees.
This rate is double to triple the average accident rate in the construction
industry. On average, a company of Guenther’s size should have had only 6 or
7 injuries annually. In three other years, Guenther had a total of 58
injuries, while an average construction company would have had only15 to 20
injuries.
Richmond Elementary job exposes workers to serious injuries
OSHA also inspected Guenther’s work at the Richmond Elementary School in
Willard, Ohio. Inspectors discovered that Guenther had an employee buffing a
steel pipe with a grinder that lacked a safety guard. This exposed the
worker to a serious danger of an injury. The OSHA inspection report noted:
"Hazard–possible flying pieces of metal or broken abrasive wheel. Face and
head injuries." OSHA issued a violation against Guenther and assessed a $900
fine.
Two Job Sites, More Fines
OSHA found an electrical violation by Guenther on another Mansfield, Ohio
job. An electrical cord had a damaged fitting. Just eight months earlier in
Oberlin, Ohio, OSHA found two serious violations of electrical rules by
Guenther and assessed a fine of $1,750 for two violations. In that instance,
the Guenther foreman claimed he "wasn’t aware" of the safety hazard even
though it was his responsibility to inspect the job site for hazards. Other
workers said it had been a problem for three to four days.
On that job site, an electrical outlet box was not firmly secured to the
wall of the job site trailer and an electrical cable had been routed across
metal poles and through a floor hole, exposing it to damage. OSHA’s report
stated that employees were exposed to fire, third degree burns and death
from these hazards.
An inspector from the Workers Compensation Bureau also inspected
Guenther’s job site and found unsafe conditions. The hazards included lack
of a fire escape procedure, failure to mount fire extinguishers and posting
of emergency phone numbers.
At all of these inspections, OSHA rated Guenther’s job safety program as
only "average."
