OSHA Cites Contractor Exposing Workers to Unsafe Scaffolds, Fall Hazards

Wednesday, May 18, 2016 | 0

A local contractor has been hit with 11 workplace safety violations by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration at worksite in Fairmont and now faces more than $146,000 in proposed penalties.

OSHA cited M&M Construction LLC with two willful violations for not requiring workers to use eye and face protection when using a power saw to cut piece of metal and for not installing fall protection devices when workers were on a roof removing shingles. For the latter violation, OSHA says workers were at risk of falling 15 to 19 feet to the ground from the 4:12 pitched roof.

The other citations were for a number of different hazards including, among others:

• Failing to ground electrical equipment with fault circuit disruptors.
• Exposing workers to shock hazards by requiring employees to work near overhead power lines and by providing extension cords with damage to the outer insulation.
• Exposing workers to trip hazards by not keeping walkways and doorways clear of extension cords and power tools.
• Bridging scaffold platforms together and mixing scaffold components from different manufacturers, jeopardizing structural integrity.
• Failing to train workers in recognizing hazards when erecting, disassembling and moving scaffolds.
• Failing to provide fall protection for workers on scaffolds.