OSHA inspectors in Ocala, Florida looked up, and saw employees of D.R. Horton Inc. – one of the nation’s largest homebuilders , installing roofing sheathing without benefit of fall protection.

That inspection, which was conducted under agency's Regional Emphasis Program on Falls in Construction, ended with citations for five safety violations against D.R. Horton and Garcia Carpentry, a contractor working on the same project, The Meadows at Heath Brook.

Two companies, same violation

D.R. Horton was issued one repeated citation for failing to ensure subcontractor employees were protected with a fall protection system when working from heights up to 25 feet. Garcia Carpentry was issued a repeated citation for the same violation and an additional repeated for allowing workers to use the top step of a ladder to access and exit the roofing trusses.

"Both D.R. Horton and Garcia Carpentry recognize the hazards associated with working at heights more than 6 feet, yet failed to provide employees with the training, protection and tools required to safeguard them from the construction industry's leading cause of death - unprotected falls," said Brian Sturtecky, OSHA's area director in Jacksonville.  Sturtecky pointed out that four out of every ten construction industry fatalities are caused by preventable falls.

Nail gun hazards pose danger to eyes

OSHA also cited Garcia with two serious violations for employees not wearing hard hats and for operating powered nail guns without eye protection.

Proposed penalties: $107,785

D.R. Horton employs approximately 4,000 workers. Garcia Carpentry is a framing contactor based in Winter Garden.