ConDig (20-Jul-18).  A roofing contractor in Menasha, Wisconsin, is facing a fine of $48,777 by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for exposing employees to fall hazards.

The agency said that Carlos Ketz, who operates as Ketz Roofing, was cited for the sixth time in the past five years.

“Employers are required to provide fall protection to employees working in construction at heights above 6 feet,” said OSHA Appleton area office director Robert Bonack.

“Ketz Roofing’s repeated failure to comply with federal safety requirements exposes employees to fatal injuries from falls, which remains the leading cause of fatalities in the construction industry.”

Earlier this month, a Florida-based roofing contractor was fined $149,662 for exposing workers

to fall hazards at a construction project in Jupiter, Florida. Sarasota-based Crown Roofing LLC was cited for one repeat violation for failing to utilize a guardrail, safety net, or personal fall arrest systems while working at heights greater than 6 feet.

At the end of last month, OSHA fined Florida-based utility contractor Douglas N. Higgins Inc $18,659 for exposing workers to cave-in and other hazards at a Naples construction project.

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.