CPOPE
04-01-2008, 05:42 AM
Firm cited six times
Contractor involved in 3 Upland deaths
Stacia Glenn, Staff Writer
Article Created: 03/26/2008 09:54:42 PM PDT
The electrical company hired to install lines in a trench that collapsed
Tuesday killing a construction worker in Banning is the same firm that
was fined for an accident that killed a worker and an elderly couple in
Upland in 2006.
Pouk & Steinle Inc.'s bid for the work on West Ramsey Street in Banning
also came under protest in November by a regional nonprofit
organization, which was concerned about the company's safety standards
and a $14 million bid some considered dangerously low.
The Department of Occupational Safety and Health Administration has
cited the company six times in the past three years. The company is
based in Bismark, N.D., but has a Riverside office.
Pouk & Steinle came onto the Center for Contract Compliance's radar in
December 2006 after a crane operator swung a 75-foot pole into traffic
on an Upland street, killing a worker and an elderly couple who were
driving by.
The company also was cited in 2005 for failure to have employees wear
appropriate safety gear while dealing with electrical equipment on a
Victorville job site.
"We had real concerns about their safety standards," said Jim Reed,
director of the Center for Contract Compliance. "We don't have a crystal
ball, and we don't know when these things are going to happen, but there
was an indication something could go wrong" in Banning.
Something did.
Martin Samaniego, a 37-year-old Hesperia man who started working for
Pouk & Steinle three years ago, died Tuesday in a cave-in that left only his
shoulder uncovered by sand.
OSHA is investigating the accident and is expected to release its
findings in about three months.
Mark Hanson, a Pouk & Steinle spokesman, declined to comment on the
Upland incident or the protest of the Banning bid, but he insisted the
company's safety standards are up to par.
"When you're doing a trenching job, you're required to have one person
on the crew who is trained in that kind of work," Hanson said. "We had
three people on site."
Workers tried to save Samaniego, who was buried six-feet deep, but the
trench's shoring was unstable. Shortly after 75 Riverside County
firefighters arrived, authorities dubbed it a recovery mission.
Samaniego's body was removed late Tuesday, but not before the trench
walls collapsed a second time.
As investigators inspected the 4-foot-wide by 15-foot-long trench on
Wednesday, the construction crew continued installing electrical lines
for the city's new power substation farther up the road.
Banning Electric Utility Director Jim Earhart said the incident has not
lowered his confidence in Pouk & Steinle's work.
"It's an unfortunate tragedy, but this is 4,000 feet later," he said,
pointing out that the crew had already installed 4,000 feet of conduit
for the project.
One of the Center for Contract Compliance's labor investigators told the
City Council in November that a substantially lower bid could lead to
safety issues down the line.
Council members unanimously voted to award the bid to Pouk & Steinle,
which was $3.5 million lower than other competitors.
After the Upland accident, OSHA fined the company $50,000 for violations
that included failure to provide adequate safety instructions to new
employees; failure to wear orange vests or put out cones; and failure to
warn motorists and guide them past a nighttime project.
The pole impaled a vehicle driven by Joel Everett Ridley, 81, of
Montclair. Ridley died at the scene; his wife, Betty Deyo-Ridley, 80,
died about a month later from her injuries.
David Jenkins, 29, of Lake Elsinore, a member of the crew, was also
struck by the pole and killed. The crane operator, Joseph Dimaano, 31, was arrested on suspicion of
involuntary manslaughter, but he was never charged, according to court
records.
Contractor involved in 3 Upland deaths
Stacia Glenn, Staff Writer
Article Created: 03/26/2008 09:54:42 PM PDT
The electrical company hired to install lines in a trench that collapsed
Tuesday killing a construction worker in Banning is the same firm that
was fined for an accident that killed a worker and an elderly couple in
Upland in 2006.
Pouk & Steinle Inc.'s bid for the work on West Ramsey Street in Banning
also came under protest in November by a regional nonprofit
organization, which was concerned about the company's safety standards
and a $14 million bid some considered dangerously low.
The Department of Occupational Safety and Health Administration has
cited the company six times in the past three years. The company is
based in Bismark, N.D., but has a Riverside office.
Pouk & Steinle came onto the Center for Contract Compliance's radar in
December 2006 after a crane operator swung a 75-foot pole into traffic
on an Upland street, killing a worker and an elderly couple who were
driving by.
The company also was cited in 2005 for failure to have employees wear
appropriate safety gear while dealing with electrical equipment on a
Victorville job site.
"We had real concerns about their safety standards," said Jim Reed,
director of the Center for Contract Compliance. "We don't have a crystal
ball, and we don't know when these things are going to happen, but there
was an indication something could go wrong" in Banning.
Something did.
Martin Samaniego, a 37-year-old Hesperia man who started working for
Pouk & Steinle three years ago, died Tuesday in a cave-in that left only his
shoulder uncovered by sand.
OSHA is investigating the accident and is expected to release its
findings in about three months.
Mark Hanson, a Pouk & Steinle spokesman, declined to comment on the
Upland incident or the protest of the Banning bid, but he insisted the
company's safety standards are up to par.
"When you're doing a trenching job, you're required to have one person
on the crew who is trained in that kind of work," Hanson said. "We had
three people on site."
Workers tried to save Samaniego, who was buried six-feet deep, but the
trench's shoring was unstable. Shortly after 75 Riverside County
firefighters arrived, authorities dubbed it a recovery mission.
Samaniego's body was removed late Tuesday, but not before the trench
walls collapsed a second time.
As investigators inspected the 4-foot-wide by 15-foot-long trench on
Wednesday, the construction crew continued installing electrical lines
for the city's new power substation farther up the road.
Banning Electric Utility Director Jim Earhart said the incident has not
lowered his confidence in Pouk & Steinle's work.
"It's an unfortunate tragedy, but this is 4,000 feet later," he said,
pointing out that the crew had already installed 4,000 feet of conduit
for the project.
One of the Center for Contract Compliance's labor investigators told the
City Council in November that a substantially lower bid could lead to
safety issues down the line.
Council members unanimously voted to award the bid to Pouk & Steinle,
which was $3.5 million lower than other competitors.
After the Upland accident, OSHA fined the company $50,000 for violations
that included failure to provide adequate safety instructions to new
employees; failure to wear orange vests or put out cones; and failure to
warn motorists and guide them past a nighttime project.
The pole impaled a vehicle driven by Joel Everett Ridley, 81, of
Montclair. Ridley died at the scene; his wife, Betty Deyo-Ridley, 80,
died about a month later from her injuries.
David Jenkins, 29, of Lake Elsinore, a member of the crew, was also
struck by the pole and killed. The crane operator, Joseph Dimaano, 31, was arrested on suspicion of
involuntary manslaughter, but he was never charged, according to court
records.