ConDig (18-Oct-19). The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has 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.
The agency cited Cruz Enterprises & Construction LLC, based in Dover and Tampa-based Intex Builders LLC for willfully allowing employees to perform roofing activities without conventional fall protection.
OSHA also cited Intex Builders for allowing employees to operate a powered industrial truck without being trained or certified, and exposing employees to struck-by hazards.
“Assuring a safe workplace is the law,” said OSHA area director Condell Eastmond. “Employers are legally obligated to comply with safety standards to ensure that workers are protected from hazards that can cause serious injuries.”
It follows news earlier in the week that OSHA had fined a Escatawpa, Mississippi-based contractor $161,771 for excavation and cave-in violations.
Last month, OSHA fined Illinois-based masonry contractor Polo Masonry Builders $252,136 for exposing employees to fall and scaffolding hazards on a commercial building project in Chicago.
In August, OSHA fined a Florida-based roofing contractor $274,215 for exposing employees to fall and other safety hazards at two Florida construction sites in Lutz and Palmetto.
The agency said that it cited Brad McDonald Roofing & Construction Inc. following inspections at both worksites that found employees improperly using fall protection while performing roofing activities.
In July, OSHA fined a St Louis-based contractor $212,158 for exposing employees to trench engulfment hazards as they installed concrete storm water pipes on a project in St Louis, Missouri.
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.