Violations of workplace health and safety standards and the resulting OSHA citations can impact organizations of all sizes and sectors. In addition to highlighting unaddressed safety hazards, these citations often carry a number of consequences, including costly penalties, diminished workforce morale and widespread reputational damages.
With this in mind, it’s vital for organizations to prioritize workplace safety and OSHA compliance to better protect their employees and mitigate the risk of potential citations and related violations. One of the best ways to do so is by analyzing past OSHA citations issued to other organizations and identifying key takeaways to prevent similar incidents. This case study outlines a recent OSHA citation and explains what the affected organization could have done to avoid it
What Happened?
In December 2022, OSHA issued multiple citations against a Texas construction contractor for failing to adhere to workplace safetyst andards while workers installed sewer lines, which resulted in the deaths of two workers earlier in the year. This job took place in an underground trench more than two stories deep. A federal investigation determined these failures created conditions that gave the two workers in the trench little chance of survival after a large section of the excavation collapsed what the affected organization could have done to avoid it.