W.M.I. CONSTRUCTION, INC.

According to U.S. Department of Labor enforcement records, W.M.I. CONSTRUCTION, INC. — a commercial and institutional building construction facility located at 6320 NW 78TH PLACE, KANSAS CITY, MO 64151 — was the subject of a formal OSHA inspection that resulted in 8 citation(s) and cumulative proposed penalties of $18,800.00. The inspection case was opened on 2004-10-25.

DOL records document workplace safety violations warranting formal citation under the OSH Act. While classified at the standard enforcement level, all OSHA citations require corrective action and may indicate areas where workplace safety programs should be strengthened.

BLS Injury Data: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2022), this industry sector has an occupational injury rate of 2.8 per 100 full-time workers — 4% above the national average of 2.7. The sector fatality rate is 9.6 per 100,000 workers.

Industry Benchmark: The total penalty of $18,800.00 is more than 5.2× the national average of $3,609.14 for facilities in the Construction sector (NAICS 236220). This sector encompasses 532,749 inspected facilities nationwide with aggregate penalties totaling $1,922.8M.

State Context: Within MO, this facility's penalty places it at the 98th percentile among 41,963 inspected facilities. The statewide average penalty is $2,902.40.

Citation Analysis: The inspection produced 8 citations spanning 4 distinct OSHA regulatory standards. The citation breakdown includes: 2 other-than-serious — The violation has a direct relationship to job safety and health but is unlikely to cause death or serious physical harm. 6 serious — A workplace hazard that could cause death or serious physical harm exists, and the employer knew or should have known about the condition.

Enforcement Timeline: Citations were issued beginning April 21, 2005 with the latest abatement deadline set for September 1, 2005. Of the 8 total citations, 8 (100%) have been marked as abated in DOL records, indicating substantial compliance with corrective action requirements.

Penalty Assessment: The cumulative penalty of $18,800.00 reflects OSHA's gravity-based penalty calculation methodology, which considers the severity of potential injury, the probability of occurrence, the employer's size, good faith, and violation history. The per-citation average of $2,350.00 falls within the standard penalty range.

The enforcement record for W.M.I. Construction, Inc. reveals a profound breakdown in trenching and excavation safety protocols, characterized by a high-gravity concentration of violations under the 1926.651 and 1926.652 standards. The assessment of a $12,000 penalty for a single violation of 1926.652(a)(1)—failure to provide adequate protective systems—represents a significant financial outlier for the period, signaling that inspectors identified an imminent risk of cave-in. This severity is compounded by the citation for 1926.651(c)(2), indicating the absence of safe means of egress. For workers on-site, this combination meant they were operating in deep, unprotected trenches with no viable path for escape during a soil collapse, a scenario that frequently results in fatalities. The pattern of citations, which includes failures in inspections by competent persons (1926.651(k)(1)) and inadequate protection from loose rock or soil (1926.651(j)(2)), suggests a systemic failure of the company’s safety management system rather than isolated lapses. The inclusion of 1926.100(a) for lack of head protection and 1926.416(a)(2) regarding electrical hazards further underscores a generalized culture of non-compliance. While no violations were formally classified as "Willful" in this specific instance, the maximum gravity ratings assigned to the trenching standards indicate that the employer demonstrated a substantial disregard for fundamental life-safety requirements, exposing personnel to the most common and lethal hazards in the commercial construction industry.