Contractor continues to expose workers to serious fall hazards

Employer name: Winesburg Builders LTD, 6834 County Road 672, Millersburg, Ohio

Inspection site: Anchors Cove, Big Chimney, West Virginia

Citations issued: On March 28, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations for two willful, two repeat and three serious violations. 

Investigation findings:  On Oct. 7, 2015, OSHA inspectors observed workers exposed to falls as high as 22 feet without protection while performing roofing and framing work on a new construction project. They opened an inspection under the agency’s regional emphasis program on falls. Once on site, inspectors found other workers exposed to falls 11 feet high without fall protection. The company was cited for those hazards.  Citations were also issued for the company’s failure to guard window and stairway openings.

The Ohio builder has an extensive OSHA history, with inspections in West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio. From February 2008 to October 2014, OSHA cited the company for more than 22 violations related to fall hazards.

Proposed penalties: $121,800

Quote: “Winesburg Builders’ reckless approach to worker safety leaves its employees one step away from a potentially deadly fall,” said Prentice Cline, director of OSHA’s Charleston Area Office. “Approximately four in 10 construction workers die in falls at work. It is vital that construction companies take responsibility for protecting their workers from preventable injuries and serious hazards. No one should have to sacrifice their safety for their livelihood.”

View the citations: http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/WinesburgBuildersLTD_1097096.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.