Lynn roofing contractor again exposes employees to fall, electrical hazards

Employer name: Continental Construction Group, 177 North Common St., Lynn, Massachusetts

Citations issued: Five repeat and two serious citations.

Investigation findings:  Continental Construction Group exposed employees to falls of 13 to 24 feet while constructing decks at a house at 21 Beach Road in Lynn. The fall hazards stemmed from missing mid-rails at the third-floor level, no fall protection at the second-floor level, using improper ladders to access the second- and third-floor levels and failing to provide fall safety training to employees. The employees also faced electric shock hazards from ungrounded electrical equipment and power cords. OSHA previously cited Continental Construction in 2012 for several similar hazards at another work site in Lynn.

Proposed penalties: $55,400

Quote: “Continental Construction’s recurring failure to protect its employees against clear and present workplace hazards is disturbing. These employees were one slip, trip or misstep away from suffering deadly or disabling falls. It’s imperative that this employer use and maintain effective safeguards on all its jobs,” said Anthony Covello, OSHA’s area director for Essex and Middlesex counties.

Link to citations: Here.

Next: Continental Construction has chosen to contest its citations and proposed penalties to the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Information: 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 Andover office at 978-837-4460.