In the Construction World
As the construction industry
continues to grow, falls continue to be the leading cause of death. Source: http://www.bls.gov
The private construction industry saw
a net increase of 25 fatal work injuries after updates were added, resulting in
a revised count of 899. The 2014 total was 9 percent higher than the 2013 total
and represented the largest number of fatal work injuries in private
construction since 2008.
January
14, 2016-
OSHA has proposed penalties of $36,000.
Investigators determined that two workers were installing metal roof sheets on
a structural steel building when one of the workers stepped into an opening
created by the removal of the adjacent metal roofing sheet and fell.
January
15, 2016-OSHA
proposed penalties $65,000. OSHA also found employees exposed to fall
hazards because ladder ways and platforms lacked guard railings.
Falls
are the leading cause of death in the construction industry, with 337 deaths
reported in 2014, up from 291 in 2013 and 279 in 2012, according to OSHA.
The U.S. Department of Labor's
Occupational Safety and Health Administration slapped Phoenix-based Design
Plastering Inc. and Design Plastering West LLC with a $407,400 fine for the death of one of its construction workers in
Dallas.
"It
is heartbreaking that it takes a fine of over $400,000 to get the attention of
an employer, rather than the employer seeing that these workers' lives are much
more important than finishing the job quickly," he said. Today, OSHA
issued eight "egregious willful" and four "serious"
citations against the Phoenix company. "We
issued citations for every one of those workers," Michaels said.
"Each one of them was put in this situation where they could have been
killed. One was killed."
Summary of Penalties for Inspection Number
1063007
Citation 1, Serious $15,400.00
Citation 2, Willful $392,000.00
TOTAL PROPOSED PENALTIES $407,400.00
In the
General Industry World
Feb.
1, 2016-OSHA
prioritizes general industry inspections using the most recent BLS "Days
Away, Restricted or transferred" rates and its "Days Away From Work
Injury and Illness" rates. Hazards related to lifting and other ergonomic
stressors will also be evaluated.
The emphasis program focuses on manufacturing
industries where injury and illness rates exceed the average for the private
sector. Included are manufacturers of the following products: food, furniture,
fabricated metal, nonmetallic mineral, machinery, and computer products as well
as printing and related support activities.
