Elkview roofing contractor willfully fails to provide fall protection to workers, exposing them to falls of up to nearly 20 feet

Employer name: K&N Contracting Inc., 2976 Wills Creek, Elkview, West Virginia. The inspection site was the Elkview Baptist Church, where workers were installing new roof shingles.

Citations issued: On September 21, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued the company one willful and four serious safety citations.

Investigation findings: An OSHA compliance officer initiated the inspection after observing K&N employees working on a roof without fall protection. Violations included the company's failure to provide fall protection, even though it was readily available. Additionally, K&N failed to provide training to workers on fall protection, safe ladder use and proper operation of powered industrial trucks.

Proposed penalties: $49,700

Quote: "K&N's deliberate choice not to provide its workers with fall protection when it was readily available is inexcusable," said Prentice Cline, OSHA's area director in Charleston. "Employers in the construction industry are well aware that falls are the leading cause of injuries and deaths. Providing fall protection and other necessary safeguards, along with employee training, saves lives."

View the citations: https://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/KNContracting_1082728092115.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.