ConDig (05-Dec-17).  The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has slapped a fine of $86,916 on a Princeton, West Virginia-based contractor for fall violations.

The agency said that Benco Builders of the Virginias Inc was cited for multiple safety hazards, including lack of fall protection, after an employee suffered serious injuries from a 19-foot fall off a roof.

It comes as OSHA inspected a work site where Benco was the general contractor responsible for demolishing an existing structure and constructing two steel and metal buildings.

The agency issued a willful citation for failure to provide and require employees to wear fall protection during roofing work. It also cited the company with eight serious violations for exposing workers to electrical, scaffolding, and forklift hazards; and for providing defective and uninspected fall protection equipment.

“Falls remain the leading cause of injury and death in the construction industry,” said OSHA area office director Prentice Cline, in Charleston. “Employers must provide proper fall protection and follow all safety requirements to prevent incidents like this from occurring.”

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

The annual number of fall fatalities in construction increased by 36% from 269 to 367 between 2011 and 2015, exceeding the growth in employment and total fatalities in the industry, according to a report issued earlier this year by The Center for Construction Research and Training (CPWR).

More than half (55%) of fall fatalities in construction occurred at a height of 20 feet or less, with falls from roofs comprising one-third of fall deaths, followed by falls from ladders at 24%.

Earlier this week, OSHA fined a Plainville, Connecticut-based contractor after an investigation found that workers were being exposed to mercury and respirator hazards.