OSHA Inspection: WILLIAMS AND SONS EXCAVATING LLC

Issued

Oct 1, 2025

Abate by

Jan 16, 2026

Penalty

Initial $3,972 · Current $2,185 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1926.501(b)(15):  "Walking/working surfaces not otherwise addressed." Except as provided in 1926.500(a)(2) or in 1926.501 (b)(1) through (b)(14), each employee on a walking/working surface 6 feet (1.8 m) or more above lower levels shall be protected from falling by a guardrail system, safety net system, or personal fall arrest system.  a.  On or about July 11, 2025, located at vicinity 817 Mill Stone Dr, Sunbury, Ohio 43074, the employer failed to ensure that employees were protected from falling while walking at the unprotected end of the catwalk leading to a wooden platform atop a concrete manhole at the worksite.  This condition exposed employees to a fall hazard of approximately 16 feet to the ground level.  b.  On or about July 14, 2025, located at vicinity 817 Mill Stone Dr, Sunbury, Ohio 43074, the employer failed to ensure that employees were protected from falling while walking at the unprotected end of the catwalk leading to a wooden platform atop a concrete manhole at the worksite.  This condition exposed employees to a fall hazard of approximately 16 feet to the ground level.

Issued

Oct 1, 2025

Abate by

Jan 16, 2026

Penalty

Initial $3,972 · Current $2,185 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1926.651(c)(2):  Means of egress from trench excavations. A stairway, ladder, ramp or other safe means of egress shall be located in trench excavations that are 4 feet (1.22 m) or more in depth so as to require no more than 25 feet (7.62 m) of lateral travel for employees.  a.  On or about July 14, 2025, located at vicinity 817 Mill Stone Dr, Sunbury, Ohio 43074, the employer did not ensure employees had a means of egress within the trench shielding box when they performed residential sewer line installation work in an open excavation that was approximately 26 feet 4 inches deep, without a stairway, ladder, ramp or other safe means of egress.  The condition exposed the employees to struck-by and crush hazards when the shielding box displaced from the sidewall cave in.  b.  On or about July 21, 2025, located at vicinity 817 Mill Stone Dr, Sunbury, Ohio 43074,  the employer failed to provide employees with a stairway, ladder, ramp, or other safe means of egress from the upper section of an excavation. The excavation face measured approximately 26 feet on the west side of the trench and was sloped at an angle between 34 and 40 degrees without a means of egress in place. This condition exposed employees to struck-by and crush hazards when working in the lower portion of the trench-where they were clearing a buried pipe and installing an additional section of pipe.

Issued

Oct 1, 2025

Abate by

Jan 16, 2026

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1926.652(g)(1)(iii):  Employees shall be protected from the hazard of cave-ins when entering or exiting the areas protected by shields.  a.  On or about July 14, 2025, located at vicinity 817 Mill Stone Dr, Sunbury, Ohio 43074, the employer did not ensure an employee was protected from struck-by hazards when entering a trench shield.  The area used for entry into the trench shield was an unprotected section with vertical faces approximately ten feet in length and over sixteen feet in depth along the sides of the manhole catwalk which exposed the employee to struck-by and crush hazards.  b.  On or about July 21, 2025, located at vicinity 817 Mill Stone Dr, Sunbury, Ohio 43074, the employer did not ensure employees were protected from cave-in hazards when accessing and exiting a trench shield. The employee entered and exited the trench shield through an unprotected gap, which measured approximately three feet wide with nearly vertical faces on both sides between the sewer and trench shield to perform residential sewer line installation work. The unprotected section the employee entered and exited was approximately eight feet deep, with an additional section of partially sloped dirt above it that measured approximately eighteen feet, totaling over 26 feet in depth, with no protective system in place.

Issued

Oct 1, 2025

Abate by

Jan 16, 2026

Penalty

Initial $2,838 · Current $1,561 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1926.652(a)(1):  Each employee in an excavation shall be protected from cave-ins by an adequate protective system designed in accordance with paragraph (b) or (c) of this section except when:  a.  On or about July 14, 2025, located at vicinity 817 Mill Stone Dr, Sunbury, Ohio 43074, the employer did not ensure employees were protected from cave-in hazards when they performed residential sewer line installation work in an open excavation that was approximately 8 feet deep at the southernmost location of the trench near the excavator, outside the protective shielding box.  The lack of the protective system(s) and exposed the employees to struck-by and crush hazards.

Issued

Oct 1, 2025

Abate by

Jan 16, 2026

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1926.652(b):  Design of sloping and benching systems. The slopes and configurations of sloping and benching systems shall be selected and constructed by the employer or his designee and shall be in accordance with the requirements of paragraph (b)(1); or, in the alternative, paragraph (b)(2); or, in the alternative, paragraph (b)(3); or, in the alternative, paragraph (b)(4), as follows:   1926.652(b)(4)(i) Sloping and benching systems not utilizing Option (1) or Option (2) or Option (3) under paragraph (b) of this section shall be approved by a registered professional engineer.  a. On or about July 14, 2025, located at vicinity 817 Mill Stone Dr, Sunbury, Ohio 43074, the employer did not ensure that the trench protective system was constructed in accordance with the requirements specified by the design of a registered professional engineer.  Employees performed residential sewer line installation work in an open excavation approximately 26 feet 4 inches deep without a sloping or benching system designed and approved by a professional engineer on the upper portion of the trench beyond the trench shield.

Issued

Oct 1, 2025

Abate by

Jan 16, 2026

Penalty

Initial $2,838 · Current $1,561 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1926.652(a)(2):  Protective systems shall have the capacity to resist without failure all loads that are intended or could reasonably be expected to be applied or transmitted to the system.  a.  On or about July 14, 2025, located at vicinity 817 Mill Stone Dr, Sunbury, Ohio 43074,  the employer did not implement a protective system capable of withstanding all intended or reasonably expected loads on the section of the trench beyond the trench shields. Approximately eight feet of vertical and partially sloped trench face extended beyond the upper trench shield, and it was not sloped at an angle that provided protection from a cave-in which exposed employees to caught-in and struck-by hazards.

Issued

Oct 1, 2025

Abate by

Jan 16, 2026

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1926.652(g)(1)(ii):  Shields shall be installed in a manner to restrict lateral or other hazardous movement of the shield in the event of the application of sudden lateral loads.  a.  On or about July 14, 2025, located at vicinity 817 Mill Stone Dr, Sunbury, Ohio 43074, the employer did not ensure that trench shields were installed in a manner that restricted lateral movement.  A gap of approximately seven feet existed between the outside of the side panels of the upper trench shield and the faces of the excavation on both sides. This open space allowed the upper shield to shift when the western end of the trench face collapsed. Employees were exposed to struck-by and caught-in hazards when the cave-in occurred while they were performing a residential sewer line installation in a trench excavation that was 26 feet 4 inches deep.

Issued

Oct 1, 2025

Abate by

Jan 16, 2026

Penalty

Initial $3,972 · Current $2,185 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1926.652(g)(1)(i): Shield systems shall not be subjected to loads exceeding those which the system was designed to withstand.  a.  On or about July 14, 2025, located at vicinity 817 Mill Stone Dr, Sunbury, Ohio 43074, the employer did not ensure that the shielding system was used in accordance with the manufacturer's tabulated data in an open trench excavation approximately 26 feet 4 inches deep. The shielding system was installed at a depth exceeding the maximum for which it was designed, considering Soil Type C (60 and 80 Equivalent Fluid Pressure (EFP)). This condition exposed employees to struck-by and crush hazards while performing residential sewer line installation work.