OSHA proposes nearly $300K in fines after worker killed at Converse Elementary School

OSHA is proposing nearly $300,000 in fines against a Texas contractor and a staffing company after a worker was killed while operating a mini-excavator beneath a San Antonio-area school earlier this year, alleging the companies failed to follow critical confined space safety requirements.

The U.S. Department of Labor announced Monday that its Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited D L Bandy Constructors Inc. and Pacesetters Personnel Services following a months-long investigation into the Jan. 7 workplace death of Baltazar Olvera Rubio, 63.

Rubio died from blunt force trauma to the head, and the Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office ruled his death an accident.

According to OSHA, Rubio was operating a mini-excavator to remove dirt that had accumulated beneath Converse Elementary School when he became pinned between the machine and a concrete beam inside the crawl space.

OSHA said Pacesetters Personnel Services supplied temporary workers for the dirt removal project.

Investigators cited D L Bandy Constructors for one willful violation, alleging the company removed the mini-excavators' rollover protective structures - the metal frames designed to protect operators if a machine tips over - and modified the equipment so it could fit inside the school's low-clearance crawl space.

The agency also cited the contractor for 15 serious violations, alleging it failed to protect workers from confined space hazards.

OSHA alleges the contractor failed to properly identify and evaluate the crawl space as a permit-required confined space. Investigators also said the company failed to test the air for hazardous conditions, provide adequate ventilation and communication, train workers, assign confined space personnel, or establish required entry and rescue procedures.

Pacesetters Personnel Services was cited for two serious violations. OSHA alleges the staffing company failed to ensure confined space entry procedures were followed and did not provide confined space training to temporary workers assigned to the project.

OSHA is proposing $276,399 in penalties against D L Bandy Constructors and $23,170 against Pacesetters Personnel Services, for a combined total of $299,569.

The companies have 15 business days after receiving the citations to correct the alleged violations, request an informal conference with OSHA or contest the citations before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

OSHA noted that the citations and proposed penalties are not final and may be modified as the case proceeds through the review process.

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