ConDig (01-July-24)  A Tennessee-based contractor has been fined $83,885 for exposing workers to deadly fall hazards following a fatality on a project in New York.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) said that A.W. Stiles Contractors Inc. of McMinnville, Tennessee, failed to provide the worker who was fatally injured and three other employees with effective fall protection, exposing them to falls of 23 feet as they replaced an aluminum standing seam roof on a building at Baillie Lumber Co.

Inspectors from the agency also said that A.W. Stiles designed, installed and used fall protection systems at the Smyrna worksite without the supervision of a qualified person, in violation of OSHA requirements. The limited fall protection systems in place were neither installed nor used correctly.

Inspectors also found A.W. Stiles did not evaluate respiratory hazards for employees using respirators and failed to ensure workers were medically able to use respirators.

“Falls are the leading cause of construction industry deaths and yet this company chose to ignore federal standards and exposed four employees — including the deceased — to this deadly hazard,” said OSHA area director Jeffrey Prebish. 

“This led OSHA to cite and fine A.W. Stiles for the lack of fall protection on an instance-by-instance basis – one citation for each of the four exposed workers.”

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 395 people died in workplace falls from elevation in 2022.

A.W. Stiles Contractors Inc. provides building, repairs, parts and services for the lumber industry. The company 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 before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Last month, an Illinois contractor has been fined $264,407 for exposing workers to deadly fall hazards on a housing project in a Hanover Park subdivision.