California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Cal/OSHA) cited general contractor Bay Construction Co. for dismantling a trench box prematurely, an employee was still working inside. A support rail fell and fatally injured the worker.

The company assembled a trench box to install underground pump station equipment in Oakland, CA. The crew was finishing up the work several days later and one worker was inside the trench box and another was using an excavator to remove the shoring system’s 5,000-pound linear rails. The hooks used on the excavator sling were not adequate for the job and one failed. The rail dropped and killed the workers below.

The company received nine citations totaling $141,075 in penalties. Five citations were general, two were serious and one was serious accident-related for failing to use adequate hooks in removing the heavier rails. They were cited for one willful-serious safety accident-related violation for failing to ensure no workers were inside the trench shield while it was being dismantled.

“Shield systems are designed to protect employees from cave-ins when working in an excavation,” said Cal/OSHA Chief Juliann Sum. “Employers must ensure that no one is inside of the excavation when the protective system is being installed or removed.”

Read the release from Cal/OSHA.