RMS Utilities Inc. is facing $92,819 in penalties after OSHA found that the Colorado company:
failed to protect employees from cave-in hazards
failed to keep the spoil pile at least two feet back from the edge of the excavation, and f
allowed employees to work beneath an excavator bucket...
An Ohio county court has sentenced Jim Coon – a roofing contractor based in Akron, Ohio – to prison after he pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the death of a 39-year-old employee who fell from a three-story roof while working without required fall protection in November 2017.
OSHA estimates some two million construction employees are exposed to respirable crystalline silica in more than 600,000 workplaces across the country. To comply, companies need to follow multiple steps that aren’t always as easy as they might seem.
New York moves to revoke contractors’ licenses after worker fatalities; more OSHA violations for Dollar Tree stores and a runaway train raises concerns about air brakes. These were among the top stories featured on ISHN.com this week.
Imagine working 20 feet above the ground. Now imagine working on top of a roof over 50 feet off the ground. And now think about being 50 stories in the air while building a skyscraper. Fall protection equipment is an essential component of your safety.
The recent deaths of employees during construction projects may cost three New York contractors their special rigger licenses – if the city’s Buildings Department’s prevails in its effort to revoke them.
The special rigger licenses of Wayne Bellet of Bellet Construction and Mohammad Bhutta of Zain Contracting were suspended following the June death of 44-year-old Carlos Olmedo Lala, who plunged from the second level of scaffolding at a Harlem job site.
The legalization of recreational and medical marijuana in more and more states is posing a quandary for employers. Traditional methods of drug testing can determine if someone has tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) – the marijuana ingredient that causes a “high” - in their system, but not when they ingested it. THC can be found for weeks in the blood and urine of regular users.
A fatal fall was among the OSHA enforcement cases finalized over the past few days – violations that show a persistent failure among some construction industry employers to address fall hazards. Falls are the leading cause of fatalities in construction.
In Dayton, Ohio, a company that has been cited for fall protection violations five times since 2014 was cited once again.
In Clearwater, Florida, a construction worker was killed Tuesday morning when he was struck by a backhoe. According to Clearwater police, the incident occurred as crews were clearing land for a town home development. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
In New Oxford, Pennsylvania, 44-year-old Eva DeVincentis was killed Wednesday afternoon in a forklift accident at her workplace, Winter Gardens Quality Foods.
CPWR and Liberty Mutual Insurance have announced the Liberty Mutual Safety Innovation Award in Construction, which will honor innovative, evidence-based interventions -- including technologies, work practices, and programs -- that can reduce hazards for construction workers.