Proframing Contractors, Inc. repeatedly exposes
roofers to potentially fatal fall hazards
GAHANNA, Ohio. In
the past eight years, Proframing Contractors Inc. was cited for 10 violations
when it allowed employees to work on roofs without fall protection and then
refused to pay the majority of its associated penalties from the U.S.
Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration. On Oct.
24, 2014, OSHA inspectors again observed three company employees who worked at
heights of up to 20 feet without fall protection on a commercial building in
Gahanna. As a result, the Pickerington-based company was cited for two willful,
two serious and one repeated safety violation. Proposed penalties total
$68,200.
“Proframing Contractors has shown repeatedly that it
does not value the safety of its employees. There is no excuse when it comes to
providing the necessary equipment to keep workers safe,” said Deborah Zubaty,
OSHA’s area director in Columbus. “Falls are a leading cause of death in the
construction industry, and many fatalities occur when a worker falls from a
height of 10 feet or less.”
OSHA determined that on-site workers did not use basic
protection, such as guardrails, safety nets, warning-line systems or personal
fall arrest systems, while they installed roof framing and sheathing, a
violation of OSHA’s construction safety standards. A second willful violation
was cited for Proframing Contractors’ failure to train employees on fall
hazards and procedures. A willful violation is one committed with intentional,
knowing or voluntary disregard for the law’s requirement, or with plain
indifference to employee safety and health.
Employees also were observed using a nail gun without
eye protection. The company was cited previously for this violation in 2012 at
a work site in Dublin.
OSHA issues repeated violations if an employer
previously was cited for the same or a similar violation of any standard,
regulation, rule or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states
within the last five years.
In addition, a serious violation was cited for workers
exposed to struck-by hazards from a damaged powered industrial vehicle used to
move materials. An OSHA violation is serious if death or serious physical harm
could result from a hazard an employer knew or should have known exists.
OSHA maintains a Web page with detailed information in English and
Spanish on fall
protection standards. The page offers fact sheets, posters and videos that
vividly illustrate various fall hazards and appropriate preventive measures.
OSHA standards require that an effective form of fall protection be in use when
workers perform construction activities 6 feet or more above the next lower
level.
OSHA’s ongoing Fall Prevention Campaign provides
employers with lifesaving information and educational materials
on how to create a plan to prevent falls, provide the right equipment for
workers and train employees to use that equipment properly. The campaign
launched in 2012. It was developed in partnership with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
and NIOSH’s
National Occupational Research Agenda program.
Proframing Contractors 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.
To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a
complaint, or report workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations
posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA’s toll-free
hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency’s Columbus Area Office at
614-469-5582.
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of
1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful
workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to ensure these conditions for
America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and
providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.