On April 23, 2014, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspected an excavation dug by two employees of Florida Gas Contractors, Inc. Following the inspection, OSHA issued the company a citation alleging three serious violations of OSHA’s excavation standard with a total proposed penalty of $14,700. Administrative Law Judge Heather A. Joys held a hearing at which Florida Gas contested all three citation items. The judge vacated Item 1, affirmed Items 2 and 3 as serious, and assessed a total penalty of $5,500. Both parties petitioned for review of the judge’s decision. For the following reasons, we affirm the citation in its entirety and assess a total penalty of $9,000.