Fall Hazards Cited Again Against NJ Contractor
The inspections involved in the new case took place at four sites in Middletown, Del., and Limerick and Perkasie, Pa. Berlin Builders is based in Cinaminson, N.J., according to OSHA, which has cited it for two willful, nine repeat, eight serious, and one other-than-serious violations.
OSHA announced it has cited Berlin Builders, a residential construction contractor with projects in Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, for fall protection violations and assessed $385,836 in penalties against the company, which OSHA maintains has repeatedly exposed its workers to dangerous falls on job sites -- following 23 inspections in the past 12 months alone, with OSHA issuing citations in 16 of them for similar fall hazards.
The inspections involved in the new case took place at four sites in Middletown, Del., and Limerick and Perkasie, Pa. Berlin Builders is based in Cinaminson, N.J., according to OSHA, which has cited it for two willful, nine repeat, eight serious, and one other-than-serious violations.
According to the agency's news release, workers at the sites were exposed to serious fall hazards on projects developed by Ryland Homes, LC Construction, Ryan Homes, and Re-Alliance Real Estate Development. Berlin Builders was a contractor for these locations. OSHA cited Berlin for fall hazards on scaffold platforms and a lack of training for those hazards, failure to provide and use fall protection, and failure to inspect the site for fall- and fire-related hazards.
"Berlin Builders is a serial violator that callously refuses to take even the most basic steps to protect workers from falls and other serious hazards in construction, an industry among the nation's most hazardous," said Richard Mendelson, OSHA's regional administrator in Philadelphia. "It is vital that construction companies take responsibility for protecting their workers from preventable injuries and serious hazards. No one should have to sacrifice their safety for their livelihood."