Roofing Contractor Cited for Repeat Fall Hazards in Connecticut
OSHA has cited Atlas Restoration LLC for allegedly exposing employees to falls of 21 feet at a worksite in West Hartford, Conn. The Wolcott, Conn.-based roofing contractor faces a total of $77,000 in penalties. OSHA began its inspection June 5 after an agency inspector observed employees working on the roof at the site without apparent fall protection. OSHA standards require that an effective form of fall protection be in place and in use whenever employees work at heights of 6 feet or more.
"Working without fall protection is like walking a tightrope blindfolded in that one slip or misstep can swiftly result in death or disabling injuries," said C. William Freeman III, director of OSHA's Hartford Area Office, which conducted the inspection. "While no falls occurred this time, these hazards are particularly disturbing since this employer previously has been cited for similar conditions at other jobsites."
Specifically, OSHA issued Atlas Restoration two repeat citations, with $49,000 in proposed penalties, for the lack of fall protection, improperly erected scaffolding, and failing to train employees in fall and ladder hazards. OSHA cited the company in 2006 and 2007 for fall hazards at jobsites in New Milford, Danbury, and Hamden, Conn., and in 2007 for scaffolding hazards at a Hamden worksite.
As a result of this latest inspection, OSHA also issued Atlas four serious citations, with $28,000 in penalties, for an improperly installed and anchored fall protection system, improperly secured roof bracket anchors, scaffold platforms that did not safely overlap, and allowing an employee to climb an extension ladder while carrying roofing materials and a rope. The company can contest the citations before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.