OSHA proposes $235,500 in fines to NER Construction Management Inc

US Department of Labor's OSHA proposes $235,500 in fines to Wilmington, Mass., contractor for fall and scaffold hazards at Boston's Rowes Wharf

BRAINTREE, Mass.-- The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued willful and serious citations to NER Construction Management Inc. for exposing workers to fall, scaffolding and other hazards at a worksite at 20 Rowes Wharf in Boston, Mass. The Wilmington, Mass., building restoration and masonry contractor faces a total of $235,500 in proposed fines.

OSHA's inspection found NER employees exposed to falls of up to 17 feet due to a lack of fall protection while power washing the side of a building and while dismantling scaffolding. An additional fall hazard stemmed from the employer's failure to fully plank the scaffolding from which the employee performed the power washing.

"A fatal or disabling fall can end a life or a career in seconds," said Brenda Gordon, OSHA's area director for Boston and southeastern Massachusetts. "Scaffolding is an essential tool - and fall protection a basic and required safeguard - for this type of work. There's no reason for an employer's failure to have proper and effective protections in place and in use at all times at all jobsites."

As a result of these conditions, OSHA has issued the company three willful citations with $210,000 in proposed fines. A willful violation exists when an employer has demonstrated either an intentional disregard for the requirements of the law or plain indifference to employee safety and health.

NER also has been issued six serious citations with $23,500 in fines for improper scaffold erection; missing guardrails; failure to certify that employees had been trained and evaluated to safely operate powered industrial trucks; lack of emergency eyewashing facilities; and failure to ensure the use of eye, face and head protection. Finally, NER has been issued two other-than-serious citations with $2,000 in fines for inadequate recordkeeping. OSHA issues a serious citation when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known. An other-than-serious violation is one that has a direct relationship to job safety and health, but probably would not cause death or serious physical harm.

Detailed information on hazards and safeguards for scaffolds and falls in construction is available to workers and employers at http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/scaffolding/index.html and http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/fallprotection/construction.html.

NER Construction Management has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, meet with the OSHA area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. This inspection was conducted by OSHA's Braintree Area Office; telephone 617-565-6924. To report workplace incidents, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742).

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to assure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.

The U.S. Dept. of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited roofing contractor Sheriff-Goslin Co. of Mansfield with one alleged willful and one repeat safety violation for failing to provide fall protection for employees working on a residential roofing project in Sandusky.

The company faces penalties totaling $86,500.

The citation follows an investigation conducted Nov. 9. 2010, under the residential construction and fall protection emphasis program. Sheriff-Goslin has been issued one willful citation, with a proposed penalty of $70,000, for failing to provide fall protection on a steep-sloped roof where workers were exposed to a 27-foot fall hazard. A willful violation exists when an employer has demonstrated either an intentional disregard for the requirements of the law or plain indifference to employee safety and health.

"Falls are the leading cause of injury and death in the workplace. Sheriff-Goslin Co. has a history of failing to follow standards to protect workers from fall hazards," said Jule Hovi, OSHA's area director in Toledo. "This is unacceptable, and OSHA is committed to ensuring employers abide by safety and health regulations."

Sheriff-Goslion also has been issued one repeat citations with a proposed penalty of $16,500, for failing to ensure workers exposed to overhead hazards were wearing proper head protection. OSHA issues a repeat citation if an employer previously was cited for the same or a similar violation of any standard, regulation, rule or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years. The company was cited for lack of head protection in June, 2009, as well as a lack of fall protection at job sites in June, 2009, and July, August and September, 2010.

OSHA standards require an effective form of fall protection, such as guardrails, safety nets or personal fall arrest systems, be in use when workers perform residential construction activities 6 feet or more above the next lower level. Detailed information on fall protection hazards and safeguards is available online at http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/fallprotection/index.html.

The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citation 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.

Employers and employees with questions regarding workplace safety and health standards can call OSHA's Toledo office at 419-259-7542. To report workplace incidents, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA(6742).

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to assure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance.

For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.

Ohio Steel Manufacturer Fined for Fall Hazards, Faulty Equipment

As a result of the June inspection by OSHA, the company was issued two willful citations with proposed fines of $140,000 and four serious citations with proposed penalties of $16,000.

OSHA has issued Republic Engineered Products Inc., a steel manufacturing company, two willful and four serious citations for exposing its workers to fall hazards and failing to maintain equipment and walkways at its Canton, Ohio, facility. The company faces penalties totaling $156,000.

"Republic Engineered Products Inc. has repeatedly demonstrated a willful disregard for employees' safety by continually failing to provide fall protection and maintain equipment in its steel plants," said OSHA Area Director Rob Medlock in Cleveland. "Failing to correct these issues is not acceptable. OSHA is committed to seeing that the workers at this facility are provided a safe and healthy workplace."

As a result of the June inspection by OSHA, the company was issued two willful citations with proposed fines of $140,000 for exposing workers to fall hazards and failing to complete periodic inspections of overhead cranes within the past 12 months. A willful violation is one committed with intentional, knowing or voluntary disregard for the law's requirements or plain indifference to employee safety and health.

The company also received four serious citations with proposed penalties of $16,000. Alleged violations include operating cranes with severe cracks in the brake assemblies, failing to provide proper illumination on ladderways and stairways, failure to keep floor areas and walkways clear of debris, and failing to maintain equipment. A serious citation is issued when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.

The company's Canton location, which employs about 670 people, has been inspected six times and received 31 safety violations since 2005. Republic Engineered Products Inc., which is headquartered in Canton, employs more than 1,000 workers company-wide and operates additional manufacturing facilities in Lorain and Massillon, Ohio, as well as Blasdell, N.Y., Gary, Ind., and Hamilton, Ontario in Canada. The Lorain operation was cited in November for 13 OSHA violations and fined $143,000.