Florida-based GP Roofing & Construction and Archer Exteriors cited for exposing workers to falls and other hazards

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — GP Roofing & Construction LLC and Archer Exteriors Inc. were cited by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration for 12 safety violations for exposing workers to falls and other hazards at two residential work sites in the Whisper Dunes subdivision of Panama City Beach and at one work site in The Davenport subdivision of Panama City.

Archer Exteriors, of Pensacola, subcontracted with Palm Coast-based GP Roofing & Construction to install shingles at the three job sites. OSHA initiated the inspections beginning in March 2014 as part of its Regional Emphasis Program on Falls in Construction. Proposed penalties total $355,300.

"The employer knowingly continues to put workers' lives at risk of serious injury or death by not ensuring proper safety measures are implemented to protect employees from dangerous falls at all work sites," said Brian Sturtecky, OSHA's area director in Jacksonville. "Although safety harnesses and ropes were available at the Panama City site, management decided not to use the fall protection because they didn't have tie-down brackets."

OSHA cited GP Roofing & Construction for three willful safety violations, carrying $210,000 in penalties. The inspection found that the employer failed to provide workers with fall protection systems, which exposed them to falls of between 9 and 11 feet while they performed roofing work at the three job sites. A willful violation is one committed with intentional, knowing or voluntary disregard for the law's requirements, or with plain indifference to worker safety and health. GP Roofing & Construction has been placed in OSHA's Severe Violator Enforcement Program.

The roofing company was also cited for four repeat violations, carrying $108,900 in penalties, for allowing workers to use powered nail guns without eye and face protection and for failing to extend ladders 3 feet above the landing surface for roof access. These violations occurred at two work sites. A repeat violation exists when an employer previously has been cited for the same or a similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule or order at any facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years. The company was previously cited for these same violations in 2012.

GP Roofing & Construction was cited for three serious violations, with penalties of $21,000, for using extension ladders improperly at two locations and for failure to require employees to face the ladder when descending from the roof. Another violation was for not clearing debris from the area around the bottom of the ladder. A serious citation occurs 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.

Archer Exteriors, the general contractor, was cited for one repeat violation, with a penalty of $15,400, for allowing GP Roofing & Construction employees to install flashing at heights of 10 feet without fall protection systems. The company was cited for this same violation in 2011. The current citations for both companies can be viewed at http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/GPRoofingandConstructionLLC_966129_75920_981964_ArcherExteriorsInc_991274.pdf.

GP Roofing & Construction has been inspected by OSHA 13 times since 2011, which resulted in willful, repeat and serious citations for fall protection, ladders, safety glasses, first aid kits and hazard communications. Archer Exteriors has been inspected six times within the past five years and was cited in three of those inspections.

Archer Exteriors is a national company that specializes in new construction in 23 U.S. states and remodeling in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Florida.

According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, fatal work injuries in Florida accounted for 234 of the 4,405 fatal work injuries reported nationally in 2013. Additional details are available at http://www.bls.gov. OSHA has created a fall prevention Web page at http://www.osha.gov/stopfalls with detailed information in English and Spanish on fall protection standards. The page offers fact sheets, posters and videos that vividly illustrate various fall hazards and appropriate preventive measures.

The companies have 15 business days from receipt of their citations and proposed penalties to comply, request a conference with OSHA's area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety & Health Review Commission.

To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint or report workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency's Jacksonville Area Office at 904-232-2895.

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 ensure 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.