Grand Rapids Excavating Company Must Cease Operations Following OSHA Violations

(Credit: MGI Construction Corp., Flickr Creative Commons)

An excavating company based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, must pay penalties of more than $509,000 and cease business operations for “serious violations” of trenching and excavation standards. Kamphuis Pipeline Company reached a settlement with OSHA after a series of inspections in 2017 found that the company repeatedly exposed employees to trench cave-in hazards while workers were installing water metering pits and lines.

OSHA says the company also failed to follow other requirements for working safely in trenches and excavations. The settlement agreement requires Kamphuis Pipeline Company to pay the penalties, voluntarily terminate all operations, and dissolve the company’s corporate status in South Dakota.

Company owner and founder Daniel J. Kamphuis agreed to surrender his North Dakota contractor license. Both he and the company also agreed not to have any ownership or managerial interest in any construction business conducting trenching and excavation activities within the US in the future.

OSHA cited Kamphuis Pipeline in April of 2018 with violations, saying the company failed to identify hazards and take corrective action and to use appropriate trench protective systems. At the time, Kamphuis contested the citations, and an independent OSHA review commission was assigned to review the case. No reports of injuries or deaths were associated with the violations.

The number of excavation and trench fatalities is on the rise, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (via Construction Dive). In 2016, those types of fatalities were almost twice the average of the previous five years combined. The US Department of Labor said in response to the numbers that it was focusing on reducing fatalities by 10% through increased inspections and offers of compliance assistance.