The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration recently cited a Norridge roofing contractor after inspectors saw employees working on residential roofing projects without fall protection at two Chicago area job sites within a month. The agency issued three repeated, one willful and one serious safety citation to Ziggy’s Roofing Inc. on Jan. 29. Proposed penalties total $115,500.
Falls are a leading cause of death for construction workers, accounting for nearly 40 percent of construction fatalities in 2014.
On July 29, 2015, an OSHA inspector observed four employees doing residential roofing work in Chicago without fall protection, such as guardrails, safety nets or personal fall prevention devices. The workers were at risk of falls of more than 14 feet. On the ground below, employees were working without head protection and using nail guns without eye protection.
Less than a month later, OSHA inspectors observed two employees exposed to similar fall hazards as they worked on a two-story residential roof at a Schaumburg job site on Aug. 17, 2015.
OSHA has inspected Ziggy’s Roofing four times since 2003 for exposing workers to fall hazards at Chicago area construction sites.
As the construction industry continues to grow, falls continue to be the leading cause of death.
Ziggy’s Roofing was provided with 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
Author Kori Shafer-Stack, Editor, Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. is an expert in post-injury response procedures and part of the Amaxx team helping companies reduce their workers compensation costs by 20% to 50%. www.reduceyourworkerscomp.com. Contact: [email protected].
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