Residential builder exposed workers to fall, other safety hazards at Ona, West Virginia, worksites

Employer name: Scott Wheeler Development LLC, PO Box 712, Hurricane, West Virginia. The worksites were located on Riverwalk Drive and in the Breckenridge Subdivision in Ona, West Virginia.

Citations issued: On Sept. 9, 2015, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited the company for one willful, two repeated and three serious violations.

Investigation findings: OSHA inspectors observed two employees — one working on a pitched roof, and another performing work on the third floor attic of a residential home with no fall protection — exposed to a 20-foot fall. Inspectors also found that employees were exposed to eye injuries while using a nail gun without eye protection, used ladders that were not properly locked into a safe position, and were not provided with fall hazard training.

Proposed Penalties: $42,800

Quote: "Scott Wheeler Development was well aware of the dangers faced by employees performing work on roofs and other high surfaces, but chose not to provide the proper protection," said Prentice Cline, director of OSHA's Charleston Area Office. "Falls are one of the leading causes of fatalities in the construction industry and must be prevented."

View the citations:

• http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/ScottWheelerDevel_1070315.pdf
• http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/ScottWheelerDevel_1072628.pdf

To ask questions; obtain compliance assistance; file a complaint; or report amputations, eye loss, 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 Charleston Area Office at 304-347-5937.