OSHA Cites Contractor for Fatality

We all know that falls are the construction industries biggest safety problem. My personal experience shows that many contractors (this includes subcontractors) try to take steps to eliminate falls. Often, however, follow-through is lacking. They provide the equipment and the initial "training," but fail to enforce the rules or "inspect" their sites for compliance.

Well, yesterday (yes, on Christmas Eve), OSHA cited a bridge engineering company in Kentucky after an employee fell 70 feet from a girder. According to the report I read, "the victim was wearing a harness and lanyard but was not secured to an anchor point." I don't know about you, but I see this a lot. Often, even if they are connected to an anchor point, it is not a proper anchor point - they will tie to a guardrail, or some other anchor point that simply won't hold them in a fall. This is where the follow-through comes in. Site personnel (safety people, superintendents, foremen, and even fellow workers) need to constantly reinforce the training every day!

In the bridge fatality above, OSHA cited the contractor (a willful violation) for "failing to eliminate employee exposure to fall hazards and failing to ensure that employees properly used personal protective equipment while working above heights of 6 feet." By the way, the fine assessed for that one citation was $70,000.

While OSHA personnel were at the site, they also cited the contractor for using pulleys that were not guarded on the winch gear, not barricading the swing radius on the cranes (anybody ever hear me preach about that one?), not securing material against accidental displacement, and not using conforming fall protection systems. Oh, there was also an other-than-serious citation issued for a recordkeeping violation.