A Pennsylvania company hired to provide labor for a store remodeling job has been fined $93,000 by OSHA for exposing its employees to fall and other hazards.
OSHA began an investigation of BC Stucco and Stone after one of its officers observed an employee working approximately 18 feet above ground on a scaffold with major safety deficiencies, such as lack of fall protection, planking, safe access and proper use of guardrails. The company was issued one serious and three willful violations after an
The agency found that BC Stucco and Stone:
- Allowed workers on scaffolds approximately 18-feet high that were not fully planked or decked.
- Used a scaffold without a safe means of access and exit.
- Used a scaffold with unguarded edges and without guardrails, creating fall hazards up to approximately 18 feet.
- Failed to provide scaffolding related safety training by a competent person to each employee working from scaffolding.
- Did not require employees to wear head protection while conducting stucco operations on a fabricated frame scaffold.
OSHA previously cited BC Stucco and Stone on May 2, 2016, for violations at a Philadelphia work site.
“BC Stucco and Stone continues to make production the priority over ensuring a safe workplace for its employees, which is intolerable,” said Erin Patterson, director of OSHA’s Wilmington Area Office. “This contractor is well aware of OSHA standards for safe scaffolding, but consistently disregards them and allows its workers to use scaffolding in such poor condition that even a small human error could lead to dreadful outcomes.”