2 Employers Cited for OSHA Fall Hazards

OSHA has fined 2 companies—a structural framing company in Alabama and a South Jersey construction company—for alleged violations of fall prevention, scaffolding, and other work safety regulations.

A Birmingham, AL could pay $102,669 in penalties for allegedly allowing workers to wear fall protection harnesses that were not tied off properly. In addition, OSHA claims the company failed to properly train employees to recognize fall hazards on the job.  

The owner of a New Jersey construction company faces nearly $200,000 in penalties for reportedly placing scaffolding near power lines at a construction site in Philadelphia. In addition, the employer failed to provide hard hats to workers.

Fall Hazards are Common and So Are Citations

Fall protection, scaffolding, and fall protection training all made OSHA’s Top 10 most common safety citations list for 2017. Fall prevention ranked #1, while scaffolding violations came in at #3.

Fall protection training requirements—a new addition to OSHA’s Top 10 list—debuted at #9 this year.
   

New OSHA Walking and Working Surfaces Rules  

On November 18, OSHA published a Final Rule to revise and update the walking-working surfaces standards for general industry workplaces. The new Final Rule updates and revises the general industry standards for walking-working surfaces.

The updates in the Final Rule took effect on January 17, 2017 and are intended to harmonize the general industry walking-working surface standards with those that apply to construction industry workplaces. 

New OSHA Walking & Working Surfaces Standard Training

Last chance in 2017! Find out how the new OSHA fall protection rules will impact your facility when Lion presents the live, expert-led Walking & Working Surfaces Final Rule Webinar one last time this year, on November 15.
 

Tags: 29, CFR, fall protection, fines and penalties, osha