Workers at residential roofing site exposed to fall hazards

Employer name: BluSky Restoration Contractor Inc.

Inspection site: Greenwood Village, Colorado

Date inspection initiated and what prompted the inspection: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration initiated the inspection in January 2015 under the agency's Fall Prevention initiative after an OSHA official witnessed workers exposed to fall hazards.

Investigation findings: OSHA's inspection encompassed 13 contractors, including one general contractor, one gutter contractor and 11 roofing contractors. Ten of the 11 roofing contractors were cited and fined.

• General contractor BluSky Restoration Contractor Inc. was cited for a willful violation for failing to ensure that subcontractors were protected from fall hazards. Proposed penalty is $63,000.
• Subcontractor Ross Seamless Gutters was cited for one serious violation, with a proposed penalty of $2,800 for failing to protect workers from fall hazards while installing gutters.
• Subcontractors David Mora, Cristobol Corrasco, Moises Martinez, Gonzalo Martinez, Arturo Jimenez, Evaristo Perez, Mosies Robles, Jose Dela Rosa, Curz Ramirez and Manuel Rivera were each cited for one serious violation, with a proposed penalty of $2,800 each for failing to protect workers from fall hazards while installing roofing materials.

Total proposed penalties: $93,800

Quote: "A fall from just six feet can lead to serious injury or death," said David Nelson, OSHA's area director in Englewood, Colorado. "That's why it's so important for employers to provide proper fall protection equipment like anchor points, full body harnesses, or, better still, a retractable life line."

Citations: http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/BluSky-1018992-0424-15.pdf

Information: Nationwide, according to OSHA inspections conducted in 2014, falls accounted for 57 fatalities in the roofing industry in fiscal year 2014, according to OSHA inspection data. In the last two and half years the Englewood OSHA area office has conducted 614 inspections in the roofing industry and issued more than 830 violations with proposed penalties close to $2 million for exposing workers to falls.

The companies have 15 business days from receipt of its citations to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director, or contest the citations and penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.