A contractor and subcontractor were fined for fall protection violations on the same roofing project in Sterling, Massachusetts. The contractor, Labelle Roofing and subcontractor Manuel Antonio Enriquez Patino are posted on the OSHA enforcement website. The site visit was the result of someone making a complaint.
There are several possibilities why more than one contractor can be cited and fined on the same job site on the same day.

• Multiple contracting companies working on the site at the same time can be cited for their own unsafe work practices. When one contractor's work triggers (RED FLAG) an inspection the CSHO will look at others in view on the site. 
• Under OSHA's Multi-Employer Citation Policy the controlling or prime contractor can be be fined on the same job site for allowing unsafe work by their subs. This includes General Contractors, Remodelers, Construction Managers, Roofing, Siding and Home Improvement Contractors who have a responsibility under the OSH Act to have a safe work site for all workers.

Here are the details of the Sterling Mass Fall Protection and Ladder Violations

You will notice in the picture that the there are two men on the upper slope of the Gambrel roof. They are not wearing fall protection harnesses. Next look at the two ladders that are set up to access the porch and the upper roof. Both ladders are not set up three feet above the roof edge. The ladder to the upper slope is set at an angle more than 4:1. The ground where the ladder is set is messy.

Here from the OSHA enforcement website you can see the results of the contruction job site inspection. The standards violated are listed;

• 19260501 B13 is failure to use fall protection to protect workers working 6 feet or more above a lower level.
• 19260150 C01 VI; fire extinguisher when 5 or more gallons of combustible liquids are present
• 19261053 B01; ladder three feet above the edge to access upper levels
  
• 19261053 B09; clear area above and below the ladder
  

Labelle Roofing Citation and Fine

Citation Id	Standard	Violation Type	Issuance Date	Current Penalty	Initial Penalty
01001	19260501 B13	Serious	2014-02-03	1400.00	2800.00

Manuel Antonio Enriquez Patino Citation and Fine

Citation Id	Standard			Violation Type	Issuance Date	Abate Date			Current Penalty		Initial Penalty
01001	19260150 C01 VI		Serious		2014-05-20	2014-05-27		1000.00		2000.00
01002	19260501 B13		Serious		2014-05-20	2014-05-27		1400.00		2800.00
01003	19261053 B01		Serious		2014-05-20	2014-05-27		1400.00		2800.00
01004	19261053 B09		Serious		2014-05-20	2014-05-27		1000.00		2000.00

 

Job site inspection details (Click on the file number link below to see the OSHA inspection information.) This information will be discoverable whenever someone does a google search for this company to check them out. Homeowners often check out companies on GOOGLE before they hire them. Insurance underwriters check out companies to determine a contractor's elegibilty for coverage and premium amounts to be charged.

 

82	950227.015	11/25/2013	0112600	MA	Complaint	Partial	238160	1	Labelle Roofing, Inc
83	977209.015	11/25/2013	0112600	MA	Complaint	Partial	238160	4	Manuel Antonio Enriquez Patino

Contractors dropping dimes on others is on the rise.....
I have been trying to let you all know that OSHA is aggressively enforcing the residential construction industry for compliance with fall protection standards. In Fall Protection Training Workshops and Private Training sessions we train you how to comply with the standards so you hopefully will not become an OSHA fine statistic. The fines are so much money and always come out of your profit. 

This post includes verifable proof for contractors that anyone can become the next contractor cited and fined. It may make sense to make sure you and your subs do not present the red flags on your job site that will trigger someone to call OSHA on your job site. 

The enforcement website is loaded with hundreds of job site inspections all over Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Rhode Island. It blows my mind but in a recent fall protection training a contractor student asked me to check out the latest activity on the OSHA enforcement page. We discovered that job site inspections from two days earlier were already posted on the OSHA site for contractors from the Worcester, Mass area.