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Company to contest OSHA penalty
By M.K. Guetersloh
mkguetersloh@pantagraph.com
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BLOOMINGTON - A local contractor for street improvements around the U.S. Cellular Coliseum received a $197,500 fine for exposing workers to potential trench cave-ins.

R.A. Cullinan and Son Inc., which said it will contest the ruling, received the fine after an October 2005 inspection by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The inspectors found an unprotected trench at the job site near Lee and Olive streets.

R.A. Cullinan and Son is the parent company of Rowe Construction of Bloomington, which had a city contract for Coliseum-related infrastructure work. Rowe did not work on the Coliseum itself.

OSHA announced the fine Tuesday morning.

Safety allegations

In its charges against R.A. Cullinan and Son, OSHA claimed the company violated safety standards because two trenches were without cave-in protection, and backfill and other materials were placed too close to the edge of the trench. Also, OSHA claimed the contractor did not protect workers from being injured in the swing radius of a backhoe working in the area.

No one was injured during the construction.

"Any one of these violations has the potential to cause serious harm, even death, to workers," John Newquist, OSHA's area director in Peoria, said in a prepared statement. "Trenching remains one of the most hazardous jobs in construction if proper safety procedures are not followed."

15 days to appeal

Mike Cullinan, president of R.A. Cullinan and Son, said the company will contest the violations and fine. The company has 15 days to appeal OSHA's decision.

"While there is always an element of judgment in the interpretation and implementation of safety rules and regulations, we particularly take issue with any inference that the company itself was 'willful' or 'shirked' our responsibility in the proposed OSHA finding and penalty," Cullinan said.

"We value the safety of the public and our employees and hold ourselves to the highest professional standards to ensure their well-being," he said.

"We have a proactive safety program and will continue to pursue safety on the job site in the future with the same vigor as in the past," Cullinan added.n;

OSHA said R.A. Cullinan and Son received trenching violation citations dating back to 1986.

Bloomington city engineer Doug Grovesteen said the Rowe Construction contract included running new storm sewers and repaving the roads around the Coliseum.

Grovesteen said he was unfamiliar with the details of the OSHA claim, but he added he knew an investigation was on-going because OSHA asked for the project plans.

"It had to do with the infrastructure improvement project. That's what Rowe was doing for us in that area," he added.

Johnston Contractors of Bloomington is the general contractor for the $37 million Coliseum.

Project Superintendent Charles "Chuck" Thomas said Johnston and its subcontractors have been working with OSHA to make sure the project remained safe for its workers.

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Reader comments on this story - 4 total

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.

Who Pays wrote on Apr 5, 2006 3:56 PM:

" If this fine is upheld is this one of those "hire costs" associated with building the arena and will the city end up paying? "

KR wrote on Apr 5, 2006 11:25 AM:

" It all comes down to greed and a lack of honesty and integrity. All too common anymore. :( "

Insurance wrote on Apr 5, 2006 7:52 AM:

" It is cheaper for a construction company to just do the work as fast as possible and forget some of the safety needs. If someone get hurts or killed they just let their insurance company handle the problem. Some even try to get out of dealing with that. Having been hurt on a construction site that a large amount of safety was forgotten, I have seen and felt there neglect and will till I die. Construction site should be inspected more often and closed down till they learn to abide by the rules. Think about it if they skip on the safety of their employees what else did they skip on, the amount of concrete, steal, bolts, is the building or road really safe? "

Operator wrote on Apr 5, 2006 5:39 AM:

" It happens on every job, not just Cullinan's. Most likely there was no competent person on site to point out the procedures for safe trenching even before OSHA got there. If this is true, which in my experience, is the rule rather than the exception, there was a failure all the way from the guys in the trench to the president of the company. Local 649 used to offer competent person training but I'm not sure if they still do. I think the Caterpillar rental store might provide this training. If not, they can put you in touch with who does. An 8 hour class can not only save money but, more importantly, save lives. "
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