Dive Brief:
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Longwood, FL–based Collis Roofing faces a $142,865 fine from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration after the agency found the contractor didn't provide fall protection for workers at 6 feet or more above ground level and failed to offer eye protection for workers operating powered nail guns on a job site in Deland, FL.
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OSHA issued the contractor two repeated violations and one serious violation. The latter was issued because the company did not extend a portable ladder 3 feet above the landing area.
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The company has been cited a total of eight times since 2011 for willful, repeated and serious violations related to fall- and eye protection. The latest inspection occurred through OSHA's Regional Emphasis Program on Falls in Construction.
Dive Insight:
The news follows OSHA's release last month of the 10 most-cited safety violations of 2016. Failure to sufficiently provide workers with fall protection was at the top of the list, representing 6,929 violations, and it continues to be the leading cause of work-related fatalities in the construction industry. Other violations included hazard communication, scaffolds, respiratory protections and lockout/tagout.
OSHA is cracking down on contractors that fail to provide workers with adequate (or any) fall-protection equipment and educate them on how to use it. Among the latest are a Florida framing contractor fined $359,878 for allowing workers to install trusses at heights of up to 22 feet without fall protection and a New Jersey builder hit with a $291,997 fine for a lack of fall and personal protective equipment and improper ladder use, both in October.
In August, the administration raised its maximum penalty payout by 78% for violations occurring after November 2015, which it hopes will influence contractors to ensure that safety is a priority.
