Southern Contracting Company: OSHA inspections and violations

Incident on Aug 1, 2018: Employee incurs multiple injuries when struck by excavator b

At 3:15 p.m. on August 1, 2018, an employee was working with two coworkers to excavate a trench using an excavator (Caterpillar 305E CR) with a twelve inch excavator bucket along with a rotary hammer, a jack hammer and shovels to lay communication cables. At some point, coworker #1, operating the excavator, shut off the excavator to go talk with the foreman. Meanwhile, the employee, who also acted as coworker #1's spotter, entered the deepest part of the trench (ten feet long by two feet wide and four feet, eight inches deep) to hand dig under the two foot wall that sat at grade above him. Coworker #2 was in another section using a jackhammer to loosen soil and was faced away from the employee. Coworker #1 returned to the excavator and started it up and began to dig in the same spot in the trench where the employee was working. The excavator bucket struck the employee, who was hospitalized for crushing injuries that include: fractures to lumbar vertebra with spinal cord injury, fractures to left arm and leg, fractured ribs, acute head trauma, and multiple contusions. contusions.

Incident on Aug 2, 2011: Employee falls from elevated platform

On August 2, 2011, electrical equipment was being installed to service the chemi cal tank farm for the "Orion" project by the company. Employee #1 planned to ele ctrically bond the metal cable trays to electrical conduits nearby. At approxima tely 8:45 a.m., Employee #1 had just finished gathering and bringing his tools a nd equipment to the elevated cable tray when he fell twenty one feet to the conc rete ground below. Employee #2 saw Employee #1 fall from the top most cable tray and hitting his head on a fiberglass railing as he fell to the ground. Employee #1 suffered a fractured rib, a fractured wrist, a laceration to the head, among st other injuries and was transported via helicopter to LAC/USC Medical Center w here he stayed for approximately 30 hours for treatment to his injuries.

Incident on Nov 18, 2003: Employee injured in fall from power pole

At 1:45 p.m. on November 18, 2003, Employee #1 was part of a crew replacing powe r poles that had been destroyed by fire in a remote part of Harbison Canyon, CA. At the time of the accident, he was setting up the electrical equipment on the new poles. Employee #1 was hanging a hand line on an arm gin for new power lines when he shifted his weight and leaned back. His safety clip detached from the D -ring on his safety harness and he fell approximately 35 ft onto the duff on the ground, and then tumbled downhill. The foreman was about 5 ft away from the pol e and he contacted the general manager, who call the paramedics. Employee #1 sus tained three fractured vertebrae, a dislocated leg, a separated kidney, a right rotator cuff injury, and fractured ribs. He was flown to Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego, CA, where he was admited to intensive care. The employer had prov ided proper training and instruction on safety practices related to high voltage electrical work in remore and elevated locations. The employer had also provide d fall protection and other appropriate equipment for the job. Employee #1's saf ety clip had became wedged between the V-brace and the cross arm brace at the to p of the pole, causing it to become unclipped.

Incident on Aug 6, 2002 (fatal): One killed, four injured in electrical explosion

At 7:40 a.m. on August 6, 2002, Employees #1 through #4, all subcontract electri ans, were preparing to remove and replace a 12-kilovolt electrical bus at a publ ic sanitation waste water treatment facility. Employee #1, a journeyman electric ian and also the foreman, opened the circuit leading to the bus being removed, a nd locked out that system with two locks. He then instructed Employee #2 to open the back of the equipment so that they could get at the bus. Employees #1 throu gh #3 together opened the compartment, after which Employees #2 and #3 left the area to get additional equipment. Upon their return, they observed that Employee #1 had already attached one end of a grounding strap to the cabinet. When the o ther end of the grounding strap contacted the 12-kilovolt circuit, there was an electrical explosion and fire ball. Seconds later, as the public electrical util ity system tried to come back on line, a second explosion and fire ball occurred . Employee #1 was directly in front of both explosions and suffered third-degree burns over 90 percent of his body; he was transported to the hospital, where he died 23 days later. Employees #2 and #3, who had been watching the attachment o f the grounding strap, were hospitalized with second- and third-degree burns to their faces and arms. Employee #4 and Employee #5, the safety inspector for the general contractor, were also observing the process and received minor singeing and contusions, for which they were treated and released that same day. Subseque nt investigation revealed that Employee #1 apparently told Employee #2 the wrong compartment number to open so they were actually working on energized lines. Em ployee #1 had available a SB Touch Tester, serial #10493, which Employees #1 and #3 had checked was operating before entering the building. Employee #4 stated E mployee #1 had not used it before attaching the grounding strap. After the accid ent, the tester was checked at a lab and found to be functioning properly.