ConDig (10-Dec-19). The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has fined a Florida roofing contractor $64,974 for exposing employees to fall hazards on a project in Royal Palm Beach, Florida.
The agency said it cited Lake Worth-based Garabar Inc for allowing workers to make repairs to a roof without fall protection.
It also cited Garabar for allowing employees to use an extension ladder that did not extend at least 3 feet beyond a landing surface; placing the ladder in front of a driveway without securing or barricading the base as required and allowing employees to operate a circular saw without eye protection.
“Falls continue to be a leading cause of injuries and fatalities in construction,” said OSHA area office director Condell Eastmond.
“Employers have an obligation to provide a workplace free of recognized hazards, and ensure all safety and personal protective equipment are correctly used.”
The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and proposed penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Commission.
OSHA ffined an Alabama sewer and water utilities contractor $34,476 last week following cave-in violations on a project in Opelika.
Last month, OSHA fined a Missouri contractor $210,037 for failing to protect employees from trench collapse and electrical hazards.
OSHA also fined a south Florida contractor $185,239 for exposing employees to excavation and confined spaces hazards after a fatality at a project in Pembroke Pines, Florida.
OSHA fined two Florida roofing contractors a combined total of $83,348 for exposing employees to struck-by and fall hazards at a project in Greenacres, Florida, in October.
OSHA had fined a Escatawpa, Mississippi-based contractor $161,771 for excavation and cave-in violations also last month.
A 2016 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released in December 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.