Massachusetts Roofing Contractor Exposes Workers to Fall Hazards: OSHA
A S General Construction faces $188,760 in OSHA proposed fines.
OSHA has cited a contractor with a history of safety violations for exposing employees to potentially fatal fall hazards. According to the agency, employees of A S General Construction of Framingham, Mass., risked falls of more than 26 feet from an unguarded roof and an improperly constructed and erected ladder-jack scaffold at a job site.
"The danger to these employees was real and present and known to this employer. Not only did A S General Construction not provide required fall protection, it did not train the employees to work safely on scaffolds and had the workers climbing damaged and improperly set up ladders. The result was that these workers were steps or seconds away from deadly or disabling falls," said Anthony Covello, OSHA’s area director for Essex and Middlesex counties.
In total, the company was cited for 16 violations and faces $188,760 in proposed fines. Additional hazards included a lack of safe access to the roof and scaffold, not inspecting the scaffold and its components for defects, failing to remove nails and debris from the work area, and lack of head protection and safety glasses.