ConDig (24-Jan-18).  A Huntsville, Alabama-based concrete contractor faces fines of $59,864 for exposing workers on a site in Florida to fall hazards and eye injuries.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited Action Concrete Construction Inc after inspectors for the agency identified one willful violation for failing to install guardrails or use personal fall arrest systems while employees worked at a height of 11 feet.

OSHA also cited the company for allowing employees to use a pneumatic air gun without proper eye protection on the construction site in Panama City, Florida.

“Falls are the leading cause of fatal injuries in the construction industry,” said OSHA area office director Brian Sturtecky, in Jacksonville.

“Employers must provide adequate training and appropriate equipment to ensure the workers are protected.”

The inspection was part of OSHA’s Regional Emphasis Program for Falls in Construction.

Action Concrete has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings.

In December, a 2016 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showed that the rate of fatal injuries in the construction industry increased 6% in 2016 to 991 worker deaths compared with 937 in 2015.

BLS figures showed that falls, struck by objects, electrocutions and caught-in/between accounted for 63.7% of all construction worker deaths in last year. There was a rise in total construction worker deaths for each of the “Fatal Four” in 2016.