Andes Construction, Inc.: OSHA inspections and violations

Incident on Mar 19, 2018: Employee moving pipe has foot run over and ankle broken

At 8:23 a.m. on March 19, 2018, Employee #1, employed by a construction company, was installing a water pipeline at a water treatment plant. He was using a crowbar to move a 10-foot long, 10-inch diameter concrete pipe when the pipe rolled over his right foot. Emergency services were called, and Employee #1 was transported to the hospital. He was admitted and treated for a fractured ankle. a fractured ankle.

Incident on Jun 19, 2013: Employee is burned when hot water line bursts

At approximately 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 19, 2013, Employee #1 was one of s everal workers installing a new sewer line for the city of Redwood City, CA. The line was approximately 400 feet (122 meters) long and six inches (150 millimete rs) in diameter. The workers were in the middle of a street. The sewer pipe line was approximately 4 feet (1.2 meters) underground and ran diagonally beneath th e middle of Oakwood Street. Workers were using the "cured-in-place" technique at this work site. This technique required that a tube membrane material be insert ed from a manhole and through the sewer and then retrieved through the next manh ole. The first step the workers performed after preparing the materials was inve rsion; this process pushed the tube membrane from one end of the sewer line to t he other end through the bombardment of cool water. The workers installed Enviro liners membrane material securely in place within the sewer line from one manhol e to the next with cool water, flushing it for approximately one hour. Immediate ly afterward, they began to flush it with hot water at a temperature of up to 15 0 degrees Fahrenheit (66 degrees Celsius) at 5 pounds psi (34.5 kPa). The hot wa ter reacted with the polyester, vinyl-ester and epoxy resin in the membrane. Hot water bombardment would take approximately up to three hours for the chemical c omposition to react and to harden this membrane into a hard and durable pipe mat erial in order to maintain a constant wall thickness of a pipe. It was done to c reate a durable, continuous, and smooth interior to promote and improve strength of the 6-inch 150-millimeter) diameter sewer line pipe. While flushing the memb rane with hot water from a steam truck, Employee #1 was adjusting the temperatur e controls from a truck that was right beside the manhole. The narrative did not specify whether the controls were on a second truck. The connection went from t he hot water steam truck hose through a manifold, using a sleeve connector, to t he membrane, and then on to the sewer line. At approximately 6:00 p.m., the memb rane area near the manifold and sleeve connector burst open, and a few cups of h ot water squirted out and onto Employee #1, who was standing nearby. He sustaine d third-degree burns to his left elbow, forearm, and left lower back. He cried o ut in pain and fell to the ground. His foreman, who was nearby, saw what had hap pened and immediately turned off the water flow from the steam truck. Employee # 1 was taken to a Kaiser-Permanente facility in Redwood City and then to St. Fran cis Hospital, where he received treatment for his injuries. Employee #1 was hosp italized over 24 hours. The employer reported the incident to the Division the n ext day. The Division opened an inspection fourteen days later, on July 3, 2013. At the time of this inspection, the foreman and other employees stated that wha t had transpired was a typical day on the job except for the membrane's bursting , which had never happened before. The foreman stated that the membrane's bursti ng at low pressure was an anomaly and probably due to a factory defect. The fore man stated that the membrane burst at its seams, because it was defective. At th e time of the inspection, the membrane that had burst had already been thrown aw ay. No accident-related violation was issued.

Incident on Apr 16, 2008: Two employees are injured in electrical explosion

On April 16, 2008, Employee #1 was excavating a trench with a backhoe. In this p rocess, the grab bucket struck a structure. Employee #2 was requested to evaluat e the situation. He began cleaning around the damaged pipe with a shovel. As Emp loyee #1 entered the trench, there was an electric explosion, causing substantia l fire. Employee #2 suffered second degree burn. He was released after first aid . However, Employee #1 was admitted in the St. Francis Memorial hospital, where he was treated and discharged on April 23, 2008.