Fall Protection Training and Education For Contractors and Trades; Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island                 

The OSHA Fall Protection directive extensions end in September. Under the extension contractors were allowed some leeway in complying with the new standard announced in December of 2010. After September that leeway ends. From September forward all contractors, remodelers, builders, framers, roofers, painters, electricians, plasterers, plumbers, siding gutters and window firms and anyone who works at heights of 6 feet or more above a lower level must comply.

Fall Protection Awareness and Outreach by OSHA, Lumberyards, Trade Publications and Trade Associations

Throughout the year OSHA was very active providing outreach to contractors directly and through industry outlets. In the spring, Region 1 OSHA held many free awareness seminars that were well attended. In addition we set up 5 OSHA awareness seminars with Tim Irving an OSHA Education Compliance Assistant that attracted 150 contractors. In April, OSHA placed the fall protection directive on the top of the main OSHA page. Many lumberyards and trade associations have widely publicized the OSHA Fall Protection requirement. Trade magazines like Professional Remodeler, Builder, Remodeling Magazine and more published numerous articles.

With all the attention this topic has received it is hard to understand how some contractors say they were not aware of the OSHA Fall Protection directive. If you or a contractor you know are truly unaware OSHA has a summary page with all the facts on one page.

OSHA Sweeps and Enforcement                                       

Beginning in the spring OSHA conducted numerous sweeps throughout Region 1. Many contractors have notified us that they were visited and face paying some fines.  The ones who contacted us asked for help in complying and many signed up for our 6.5 hour Fall Protection training and education. To stay informed on OSHA press releases in Region 1 use this page link.

Many still not complying frustrates contractors who do....

On the opposite side of the coin we speak with contractors who basically say the heck with the OSHA requirement. The reasons cited often have to do with angst against the current administration, it is a money grab, it is BS, it's unreasonable, staging costs too much and we can't work with equipment on. Whatever the reasons those who choose to work without complying are taking a huge risk. We are told by many contractors that they were reported to OSHA by there own employees or subs. If you have worker who feels unsafe or is disgruntled do not be surprised if they make a call. 

In a comment to our last blog post this contractor says this;

"We were told by you and OSHA that there were 5 teams of inspectors coming to Southeastern Mass and Cape Cod to hit residential roofers and painters. No one has seen anyone. If you have any information to the contrary it would be beneficial to make it public. Because right now the vast, vast majority believe that this is another scheme to get contractors money for more licenses and training BS. I see blatant stupid staging all over and no one doing anything."

This contractor is obviously chagrined to see many contractors not following the rules and he would like to see some results from the OSHA enforcement this spring and summer in his area. He will not have to wait too long to see some results. From the time a contractor is visited and publicly cited up to 5 or 6 months can elapse. To see OSHA results one can simply sign up for Google Alerts and they will be notified by email anytime someone is cited. The last blog post showed that 10 contractors with fines totalling $173,000, visited in January, were just publicly reported on August 6th. So those contractors from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York found not complying this spring with fall protection will be showing up in press releases this fall. 

Fall Protection Training For Residential Contractors             

We hold a full day Fall Protection Training for residential contractors to help you learn how to comply with the standard. We offer open enrollment, private training (great for general contractors who want to reduce their risk and make sure their subs are trained) and we also partner with lumberyards and trade associations. We work in New England and we will travel to other states.

To learn more contact Mark.