Fidelity Engineering, LLC: OSHA inspections and violations

Incident on Apr 2, 1998: Employee's legs injured when trench collapses

At approximately 7:40 a.m. on April 2, 1998, Employee #1 was working in a 4 ft 9 in. deep trench, laying filter cloth down and preparing to lay the first piece of pipe for the day. The side of the trench caved in, burying him 36 in. deep (u p to his pockets) and trapping his legs. The fire department was called, but Emp loyee #1 had been dug out by coworkers by the time they arrived. He was transpor ted to Sinai Hospital, where he was treated for sore legs and released. He retur ned to work at approximately 2:00 p.m. that same day.

Incident on Jan 28, 1985: Burn - electrical fault in votage tester

An engineering firm had installed a power-line-carrier control system at a manuf acturing plant. The system controlled a rooftop air conditioning and heating uni t. Two electricians for the engineering firm had been at the jobsite for about 3 weeks, installing the electronic controls. Over the course of 2 days, they were troubleshooting the control system. The unit would not transmit a signal. After troubleshooting the control system, they determined that the control system gro und was bad. Looking for a good ground, they entered a high-voltage electrical r oom (a substation). Two maintenance employees working for the manufacturer accom panied them into the substation, which was posted with signs warning of high vol tage. (The two maintenance employees did not know the operating voltage of the l ines in the substation.) One of the electricians used his 600-volt voltage teste r to check a 13-kilovolt, three-phase power line. The voltage tester failed, cre ating an electrical fault. The ensuing electric arc burned the electrician who w as using the tester. He sustained first-degree burns on his face and third-degre e burns on the back of his hands. He was hospitalized at a burn center. The othe r electrician sustained eye flash. He was transported to a hospital, where he wa s treated and released the same day. The employer held safety meetings once a mo nth, posted some safety lists, and provided on-the-job safety training.