Philadelphia stucco company continues to expose workers to fall hazards on construction site

Employer name: Alberto El Romero is located at 630 Mifflin Street in Philadelphia. Workers were performing stucco operations on a work site located at 1011 South 7th Street in Philadelphia.

Citations issued: On November 5, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations for two serious and five repeat violations.

Investigation findings: OSHA initiated the inspection in response to a complaint alleging that employees were working from a scaffold without guardrails, exposing them to fall hazards. The company was cited for hazards related to scaffolds, including failing to fully plank the scaffold, not providing safe access and a lack of fall protection and fall protection training. Citations were also issued because the company failed to install toe boards and ensure that workers wore hard hats.

Proposed penalties: $51,590

Quote: "By not providing the proper scaffolding and fall protection, Alberto El Romero is taking unnecessary chances with workers' lives," said Nicholas DeJesse, director of OSHA's Philadelphia Area Office. "Falls are the leading cause of fatalities on construction sites, so it is vital that employers stay vigilant in protecting workers from those hazards."

View the citations: http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/Alberto_El_Romero_1093447.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 Philadelphia Area Office at 215-597-4950.