OSHA secured a consent order and injunction requiring Sousa Contractors Inc. to comply with OSHA regulations at a West Windsor, N.J., construction site by providing fall protection equipment to employees working from heights of 6 feet or greater as well as proper scaffolding for employees who are installing roof trusses. OSHA cited the framing contractor in June for exposing employees to fall hazards and proposed $107,900 in penalties. Subsequently, inspectors repeatedly observed workers placed in imminent danger--one that could reasonably be expected to cause death or serious physical harm--while installing roof trusses approximately 35 feet above the ground without any fall protection.
Order Fall Protection Safety Training by SafetyInstruction.com to Ensure OSHA Compliance
Showing posts with label fall protection. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fall protection. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Friday, June 17, 2011
Roofing contractor fined nearly $250,000 for egregious fall hazards
OSHA fined roofing contractor Lessard Brothers Construction Inc. $243,360 for egregious willful, serious and repeat violations following OSHA's inspection of a Lewiston, Maine, worksite. OSHA previously cited Lessard Brothers, and its predecessor Lessard Roofing & Siding Inc., 10 times for fall protection violations at Maine worksites.
Lessard employees were exposed to potentially life-threatening falls of 23 feet while working without fall protection on a steep-pitched roof. Due to the company's knowledge of the hazard, along with its extensive history of OSHA violations, inspectors issued Lessard four egregious willful citations for the lack of fall protection. A willful violation is one committed with intentional knowing or voluntary disregard for the law's requirements, or with plain indifference to worker safety and health. In addition to the egregious willful citations, OSHA issued Lessard two serious citations for an electrical hazard and for failing to train workers on electrical hazards and fall protection. The company was also issued one repeat citation for lack of hard hat protection. This significant enforcement action qualifies Lessard Brothers Construction Inc. for OSHA's Severe Violator Enforcement Program, which mandates targeted follow-up inspections to ensure compliance with the law. See the news release for more information.
Order Fall Protection Training by SafetyInstruction.com to Ensure OSHA Compliance
Lessard employees were exposed to potentially life-threatening falls of 23 feet while working without fall protection on a steep-pitched roof. Due to the company's knowledge of the hazard, along with its extensive history of OSHA violations, inspectors issued Lessard four egregious willful citations for the lack of fall protection. A willful violation is one committed with intentional knowing or voluntary disregard for the law's requirements, or with plain indifference to worker safety and health. In addition to the egregious willful citations, OSHA issued Lessard two serious citations for an electrical hazard and for failing to train workers on electrical hazards and fall protection. The company was also issued one repeat citation for lack of hard hat protection. This significant enforcement action qualifies Lessard Brothers Construction Inc. for OSHA's Severe Violator Enforcement Program, which mandates targeted follow-up inspections to ensure compliance with the law. See the news release for more information.
Order Fall Protection Training by SafetyInstruction.com to Ensure OSHA Compliance
Lumber company fined nearly $2 million for egregious safety violations including exposing workers to amputation and fall hazards
OSHA fined Phenix Lumber Co. and its principal, John M. Dudley, for egregious and other safety violations at the company's Phenix City, Ala., facility, including exposing employees to amputation and fall hazards. Prior to these citations, Phenix Lumber was cited 77 times by OSHA for serious safety and health violations since 2007.
“Phenix Lumber continues to put workers at risk by choosing not to implement safety measures that would prevent serious injuries to their employees,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis.
OSHA began an inspection Dec. 15, 2010, in response to a complaint that employees working in the planer mill were exposed to amputation hazards while maintaining, cleaning and clearing jams on pieces of machinery that did not have their energy sources locked out to prevent their unexpected start up. Two months later, OSHA received a second complaint that an employee had suffered a partial finger amputation while clearing a piece of machinery that had not been locked out. At the opening of an inspection following the second complaint, the compliance officer learned of another employee who had just suffered a severe hand injury while working on unguarded machinery. Phenix Lumber had been cited numerous times during the past four years for allowing employees to work on unguarded machinery while it was operating.
OSHA issued Phenix Lumber citations for willful violations that included failing to properly shut down and lock out machinery before employees were required to perform tasks such as clearing jams and cleaning. These failures exposed employees to amputation hazards, as well as to the possibility of being caught between or struck by pieces of the machinery and falling lumber. The employer also failed to train employees who performed this work on the hazards and how to shut down and lock out the machinery so that they could perform their tasks safely. In addition, OSHA found that the employer willfully exposed a worker to fall hazards while working from the top of a machine, failed to issue locks to employees as required by the lockout standard, and failed to follow established lockout/tagout procedures.
Order Fall Protection Training by SafetyInstruction.com to Ensure OSHA Compliance
Order Lock-Out/Tag-Out Training by SafetyInstruction.com to Ensure OSHA Compliance
“Phenix Lumber continues to put workers at risk by choosing not to implement safety measures that would prevent serious injuries to their employees,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis.
OSHA began an inspection Dec. 15, 2010, in response to a complaint that employees working in the planer mill were exposed to amputation hazards while maintaining, cleaning and clearing jams on pieces of machinery that did not have their energy sources locked out to prevent their unexpected start up. Two months later, OSHA received a second complaint that an employee had suffered a partial finger amputation while clearing a piece of machinery that had not been locked out. At the opening of an inspection following the second complaint, the compliance officer learned of another employee who had just suffered a severe hand injury while working on unguarded machinery. Phenix Lumber had been cited numerous times during the past four years for allowing employees to work on unguarded machinery while it was operating.
OSHA issued Phenix Lumber citations for willful violations that included failing to properly shut down and lock out machinery before employees were required to perform tasks such as clearing jams and cleaning. These failures exposed employees to amputation hazards, as well as to the possibility of being caught between or struck by pieces of the machinery and falling lumber. The employer also failed to train employees who performed this work on the hazards and how to shut down and lock out the machinery so that they could perform their tasks safely. In addition, OSHA found that the employer willfully exposed a worker to fall hazards while working from the top of a machine, failed to issue locks to employees as required by the lockout standard, and failed to follow established lockout/tagout procedures.
Order Fall Protection Training by SafetyInstruction.com to Ensure OSHA Compliance
Order Lock-Out/Tag-Out Training by SafetyInstruction.com to Ensure OSHA Compliance
OSHA announces three-month enforcement phase-in for residential construction fall protection
OSHA announced June 9 a three-month enforcement phase-in period to allow residential construction employers to come into compliance with the agency's new directive to provide residential construction workers with fall protection. During the phase-in period June 16-September 15, if an employer is in full compliance with the old directive (STD 03-00-001), OSHA will not issue citations, but will instead issue a hazard alert letter informing the employer of the feasible methods that can be used to comply with OSHA's fall protection standard or implement a written fall protection plan. If the employer's practices do not meet the requirements set in the old directive, OSHA will issue appropriate citations. If an employer fails to implement the fall protection measures outlined in a hazard alert letter, and OSHA finds violations involving the same hazards during a subsequent inspection of one of the employer's workplaces, the Area Office will issue appropriate citations.
Order Fall Protection Training by SafetyInstruction.com to Ensure OSHA Compliance
Order Fall Protection Training by SafetyInstruction.com to Ensure OSHA Compliance
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Steel manufacturer fined more than $500,000 for repeatedly exposing workers to fall and machine hazards
OSHA cited steel manufacturer Republic Engineered Products Inc. in Lorain, Ohio, for seven willful and three repeat safety violations, with penalties of $563,000, for failing to protect workers from fall hazards and failing to implement adequate lockout/tagout procedures to prevent injury from hazardous equipment. The company also has been placed in OSHA's Severe Violator Enforcement Program, which focuses enforcement resources on employers that have demonstrated indifference to their OSH Act obligations by committing willful, repeated or failure-to-abate violations.
OSHA began the inspection of the Lorain facility after a worker who fell 9 feet from a coil transfer car was hospitalized with a broken pelvis. Willful violations were cited for exposing employees to falls from the car and an unguarded platform, and for failing to affix lockout/tagout devices to control the unexpected energizing of equipment. Repeat violations were cited for failure to train employees in lockout/tagout procedures; specify the procedural steps necessary to lock out electrical, hydraulic and gravitational energy sources for the coil transfer car; and isolate all hazardous energy sources.
Order Fall Protection Training by SafetyInstruction.com to Ensure OSHA Compliance
Order Lock-Out/Tag-Out Training by SafetyInstruction.com to Ensure OSHA Compliance
OSHA began the inspection of the Lorain facility after a worker who fell 9 feet from a coil transfer car was hospitalized with a broken pelvis. Willful violations were cited for exposing employees to falls from the car and an unguarded platform, and for failing to affix lockout/tagout devices to control the unexpected energizing of equipment. Repeat violations were cited for failure to train employees in lockout/tagout procedures; specify the procedural steps necessary to lock out electrical, hydraulic and gravitational energy sources for the coil transfer car; and isolate all hazardous energy sources.
Order Fall Protection Training by SafetyInstruction.com to Ensure OSHA Compliance
Order Lock-Out/Tag-Out Training by SafetyInstruction.com to Ensure OSHA Compliance
Directive to protect residential construction workers from falls goes into effect June 16
Starting June 16, residential construction employers will have to provide workers with the conventional fall protection required by the construction fall protection standard, issued in 1994 (29 CFR 1926.501(b)(13)). Falls are the leading cause of death for workers in construction and this directive will provide residential construction workers with greater protection from being injured or killed on the job.
In December 2010, OSHA issued a new directive withdrawing an interim policy that allowed residential construction employers to use alternative procedures for worker fall protection. Under the new procedures, where residential construction employers find that traditional fall protection is not feasible or creates a greater hazard in residential environments, employers will still be allowed to implement alternative procedures that will assure worker protection after developing a written site-specific fall protection plan.
Order Fall Protection Training by SafetyInstruction.com to Ensure OSHA Compliance
In December 2010, OSHA issued a new directive withdrawing an interim policy that allowed residential construction employers to use alternative procedures for worker fall protection. Under the new procedures, where residential construction employers find that traditional fall protection is not feasible or creates a greater hazard in residential environments, employers will still be allowed to implement alternative procedures that will assure worker protection after developing a written site-specific fall protection plan.
Order Fall Protection Training by SafetyInstruction.com to Ensure OSHA Compliance
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Construction company fined more than $140,000 after subjecting workers to fall hazards
OSHA cited Champion Builders LLC for alleged willful, repeat and serious violations of workplace safety standards following OSHA's inspection of a hotel construction site in Madison, Conn. The Bristol, Conn., steel erection contractor faces a total of $143,000 in fines, chiefly for fall hazards at the worksite. OSHA found company employees exposed to falls of up to 53 feet while working without fall protection on the building's roof and to falls of between seven and 25 feet from unprotected or inadequately protected wall and window openings. Other fall hazards stemmed from an unguarded floor hole, missing or inadequate stair railings and the workers not being trained to recognize and address fall hazards. In addition, the operator of a powered industrial truck used to move steel around the jobsite was not trained in its safe operation, exposing employees to being struck or crushed by the vehicle.
Order Fall Protection Training
by SafetyInstruction.com
to Ensure OSHA Compliance
Order Fall Protection Training
by SafetyInstruction.com
to Ensure OSHA Compliance
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