OSHA has cited Spear Excavating LLC – based in Pennsburg, Pennsylvania – for exposing employees to trenching hazards at a worksite in Malvern, Pennsylvania. The company faces $106,057 in proposed penalties.

OSHA initiated an inspection on August 2, 2018, after receiving a complaint alleging the hazards. Inspectors determined that employees were working in an excavation that was accumulating water and did not have proper protection from cave-ins.

"Spear Excavating LLC willfully exposed its employees to cave-in hazards by putting production ahead of safety," said OSHA Philadelphia Area Office Director Theresa Downs. "Trench collapses and cave-ins continue to be among the greatest risks to construction workers' lives."

The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.