Five contractors have been fined and cited for safety violations related to the death of one employee and the serious injuries to five other employees in the bridge collapse at Florida International University.
The companies received seven violations totaling $86,658 from the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration in the March 15 collapse that killed six.
OSHA cited Figg Bridge Engineers Inc., a civil and structural engineering company; Network Engineering Services Inc. (doing business as Bolton Perez & Assoc.), a construction engineering and inspection firm; Structural Technologies LLC (doing business as Structural Technologies/VSL), specializing in post-tensioning in bridges and buildings; Munilla Construction Management LLC, a bridge and building construction company; and The Structural Group of South Florida Inc., a contractor specializing in concrete formwork.
"OSHA’s investigation determined that the companies failed to protect workers when indications of a potential bridge collapse were evident," the Department of Labor said in a news release Tuesday. "Violations included exposing employees to crushing and fall hazards; and allowing multiple employees to connect to an improperly installed lifeline."