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Nations Roof of New England, with affiliates throughout the country, have reached an enterprsie-wide settlement with OSHA, after receiving OSHA citations and penalties totaling $34,750 at a Hudson, NH job site. Not only will Nations Roof pay the fine, but they will go through a complete overhaul.

“In this settlement, Nations Roof goes beyond correcting hazards and paying a fine,” said Marthe Kent, OSHA’s New England regional administrator, who is based in Boston. “It commits itself to a proactive safety and health culture that will emphasize training and awareness to minimize roofing and construction hazards companywide, which ultimately will help ensure that all of its workers return home whole and healthy after each day’s labors.”

“The significance of an enterprisewide settlement agreement is in bringing about enhanced safety and health for the entire workforce of an employer with multiple locations and subsidiaries,” said Michael Felsen, the Labor Department’s regional solicitor in Boston. “Instead of taking a piecemeal approach to safety, Nations Roof LLC and its affiliates will implement and maintain a uniform nationwide program that will enhance safeguards against falls and other construction hazards for hundreds of roofers.”

Under the agreement, Nations Roof will appoint safety/health directors for all of the companies. Each director and a supervisory employee will complete OSHA’s 30-hour construction safety course, the safety/health directors will be required to become certified to teach the 30-hour course, and all other potentially exposed employees will receive at least the OSHA 10-hour safety course plus eight additional hours dedicated to fall protection. In addition, site-specific safety plans will be developed at each work site and reviewed daily with employees, and every active work site will be inspected daily by a foreman and weekly by a project manager. Nations Roof will audit four active work sites of each affiliate per year, institute a safety and health curriculum as part of its management development program, and implement performance reviews for all affiliate presidents and safety/health directors.

The company also will submit compliance reports to OSHA; report jobs, injuries and illnesses to the agency; and allow OSHA to monitor compliance with the agreement. Finally, Nations Roof will pay $34,750 in fines and verify correction of all hazards cited at the Hudson work site.

You can read the full article here:

https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=20610

WEST WINDSOR, N.J. – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has secured a consent order and injunction requiring Sousa Contractors Inc. to comply with OSHA regulations at a West Windsor construction site by providing fall protection equipment to employees working from heights of 6 feet or greater as well as proper scaffolding for employees who are installing roof trusses.

OSHA cited the Sayreville-based general contractor in June for exposing employees to fall hazards and proposed $107,900 in penalties. Subsequently, inspectors repeatedly observed workers placed in imminent danger – one that could reasonably be expected to cause death or serious physical harm – while installing roof trusses approximately 35 feet above the ground without any fall protection.

“OSHA sought this order and injunction to protect the employees of Sousa Contractors from potentially deadly fall hazards,” said Paula Dixon-Roderick, director of OSHA’s Marlton Area Office. “Falls pose a major threat to construction workers and must be taken seriously by employers.”

Filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, the order and injunction also require the company to retain an independent safety consultant with substantial construction experience throughout the duration of the work at the West Windsor site; have a foreman, manager or consultant who has completed OSHA’s 30-hour construction safety course supervise work on all of the company’s work sites; provide OSHA’s 10-hour construction safety course to all employees before Oct. 1; and notify OSHA of every construction project that is projected to take more than one week to complete. Sousa Contractors also is required to pay all outstanding penalties imposed by OSHA. In addition to the $107,900, the company must pay $54,250 for two previous unpaid inspections that have become final orders of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Sousa Contractors supplies construction crews for framing, roofing and masonry work.

Detailed information about fall hazards and safeguards is available on OSHA’s website at http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/fallprotection/construction.html.

NEWARK, N.J. – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Dream House Stucco for 11 safety violations at a residential construction site in Monroe. OSHA initiated an inspection on March 28 under a local emphasis program focused on falls in construction, during which inspectors observed employees working on scaffolds at heights of up to 20 feet without fall protection. Proposed penalties total $64,020.

“Falls are one of the leading causes of occupational deaths, accounting for 8 percent of all occupational fatalities resulting from trauma,” said Patricia Jones, director of OSHA’s Avenel Area Office. “The company’s hazardous practices continue to leave employees at risk of serious injury and possible death.”

To read the full story:

https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=20523

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Austin-based Buffalo Framing and Truss LP for 13 serious and one repeat safety violation resulting from inspections at two of the company’s work sites in Dripping Springs. Proposed penalties total $58,100.

“Contractors in residential construction will be held accountable for the safety of all workers,” said Casey Perkins, OSHA’s area director in Austin. “OSHA will not tolerate a company’s complacency toward hazards confronting workers on a daily basis.”

As part of a regional emphasis program on construction hazards, OSHA began an inspection on March 31 at the company’s work site, where workers were constructing four multi-family town homes. On May 10, OSHA inspected the company’s hotel construction work site. OSHA investigators found numerous fall protection violations at both sites while employees were performing work from ladders, scaffolding and rooftops up to 20 feet high. Buffalo Framing and Truss was the primary framing contractor that hired subcontractors to conduct the work at these multi-employer work sites.

The serious safety violations include failing to provide training on the hazards of working on scaffolding; ensure workers operating pneumatic and electrical power tools were utilizing eye protection; ensure electrical cords were properly maintained; and ensure employees working on rooftops and in front of wall openings were provided with fall protection equipment. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.

To read the full release: https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=20514

Be prepared for September 15th, OSHA’s Fall Protection compliance deadline! By this date, contractors and trades who work 6 feet above lower levels must have a written fall protection plan in place or an on-site, site-specific work plan, their workers must be trained and certified, and the correct fall protection equipment must be utilized. Don’t be caught unprepared and not in compliance on your job site. Get prepared now!

IEE’s 4 Hour OSHA Fall Protection Course includes Ladder & Scaffold Safety… and it only costs $175!!!!

The next OSHA Fall Protection course dates are:

• August 16
• August 24

Protect your workers, protect your company … stay on top of your training… before OSHA pays you a visit…!

Register for an OSHA Fall Protection course by calling IEE today at (978) 658-5272.  

You can also read the full OSHA Fall Protection Directive, issued on December 16, 2010, right here:

http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=DIRECTIVES&p_id=4755

There are over 4500 Massachusetts companies who are EPA- certified firms. However, there are less than 1800 Massachusetts companies licensed in Massachusetts as MA Lead-Safe Renovation Contractors. Was something lost in translation?

If you own a company in Massachusetts and perform renovation work on pre-1978 homes or child-occupied facilities in Massachusetts, you must become a certified firm in Massachusetts. EPA certification of your firm, however, will cover you for NH projects, as well as any other EPA RRP state.

So what should you do now? Well, if you already have your firm certification through the EPA, simply fill out and send in this Lead-Safe Renovation Contractor Licensing Waiver Application- for no additional $$: 

http://www.mass.gov/Elwd/docs/dos/lead_asbestos/lead/la-app_lsrcwaiver.pdf

If you have no firm certification whatsoever, you better not be working on, or even bidding on, pre-1978 home projects. Fill out and  send this in along with $375 to apply for your MA Lead-Safe Renovation Contractor License:

http://www.mass.gov/Elwd/docs//dos/lead_asbestos/lead/la-app_rc.pdf

Additionally, if you work in NH or any other EPA authorized RRP state, apply for your firm certification here: http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/firmapp.pdf

For those of you that haven’t even certified yourself or workers by taking the EPA RRP/MA Lead-Safe Renovator course, sign up for a course! You can sign up by calling IEE at (978) 658-5272, or even online at www.IEEtrains.com. We offer courses in English and Spanish.

Regulación en Massachusetts le requiere a contratistas tomar las debidas precauciones al hacer contacto con materiales que contengan plomo durante obras de renovación, pintura, y reparaciones

***El Instituto Para Educacion Ambiental (IEE) ofrece el curso de Plomo para Renovadores en español cada mes. El proximo curso es el dia 23 de Agosto. Llame para registrarse al (978) 914-0857. www.IEEtrains.com***

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Pallflex Co. for 29 alleged violations of workplace safety and health standards at its Connecticut manufacturing plant. The filter manufacturer faces a total of $121,650 in proposed fines following a comprehensive OSHA inspection.

OSHA’s inspection identified a variety of hazards that can occur in a manufacturing environment, resulting in citations for 24 serious violations including fall hazards from unguarded tank platforms.

You can read the full news release here:

http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=20391

According to the NH Department of Environmental Services, more than 10,530 children in NH have had or currently have lead poisoning. With 62% of NH homes being built prior to 1978, there is still a lot of lead out there!

You can help to control lead poisoning by hiring a Lead-Safe Certified Contractor for your home renovations, and if you are a renovator, make sure that you are Lead-Safe Certified. It’s the law! Any renovator working on a pre-1978 home disturbing lead- painted surfaces of more than 6 feet inside or 20 feet outside must be Lead-Safe Certified.

The EPA’s Renovation, Repair, and Painting Rule is in place to ensure that renovation work done around lead paint in homes built prior to 1978 and child-occupied facilities is done safely.

Register for an EPA Renovation, Repair, and Painting/MA Lead-Safe Renovator  course today! You may do so by calling (978) 658-5272 or online at  www.IEEtrains.com

You can see the full NHDES release here:

http://des.nh.gov/organization/commissioner/pip/newsletters/greenworks/documents/201107-%20greenworks.pdf

OMAHA, Neb. – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Bushnell Illinois Tank Co., doing business as Schuld/Bushnell in Valley, for one willful, one repeat, 20 serious and one-other-than serious violation, following a combined safety and health inspection at the company’s facility. Proposed penalties total $142,400.

The serious violations include misusing and overloading an under-hung hoist; using a damaged fiberglass ladder; exposing employees to falls of more than 4 feet; failing to properly train and document training of workers who operate industrial trucks; overloading an industrial truck; failing to inspect and remove damaged slings from service; using damaged slings to lift heavy objects; failing to guard a power-transmitting belt and pulley; exposing workers to more than 85 decibels of noise without a hearing conservation program; spray painting within 20 feet of spark-producing equipment; allowing voluntary respirator use without the required elements of a respirator program and without proper training; and allowing workers to enter a permit-required confined space without identifying hazards, providing proper training and equipment, testing atmospheric conditions and providing an attendant at all times. Electrical violations include exposing workers to shocks through a missing stop button in a control box, using an electrical cord without a ground plug and using an outlet box without a cover. Additionally, the employer failed to maintain material safety data sheets and train workers who use or store hazardous chemicals. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.

You can read the whole news release here:

http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=20268