Federal workplace safety inspectors found a Kansas roofing contractor again putting its employees at risk of falls from elevation – the construction industry’s deadliest hazard – by not providing required protective equipment at two residential worksites in October 2023.
U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration compliance officers opened inspections after observing three employees of Triple A Built LLC in Peculiar and Blue Springs, Missouri, doing framing work without required fall and eye protection. The agency initiated the inspections under its National Emphasis Program for Falls and Regional Emphasis Program on Falls, Scaffolds and Electrocutions from Overhead Power Lines in Construction.
OSHA inspectors cited the Wellsville company for six instance-by-instance repeat violations for lack of fall protection and two repeat violations for not providing workers using powered nail guns with eye and face protection. The agency has proposed $233,210 in penalties. Triple A Built received citations for similar violations in 2021.
“OSHA repeatedly finds residential construction contractors like Triple A Built ignoring federal regulations designed to protect workers from debilitating or deadly fall hazards,” explained OSHA Acting Area Director Gladys Keino in Kansas City, Missouri. “Fall hazard exposures make jobs in the construction industry among the nation’s most dangerous. Use of proper safety equipment and training can prevent needless injuries or worse.”
In 2022, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 1,069 construction workers died on the job. Of those deaths, 395 were related to falls from elevation.
As part of a continuing effort to prevent industry fatalities, OSHA, industry and safety groups, and other worker advocates are encouraging construction employers and workers to join the 11th annual National Safety Stand-Down for Falls in Construction, May 6-10. Partnering with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, National Occupational Research Agenda, Center for Construction Research and Training, American Society of Safety Professionals, National Safety Council, the National Construction Safety Executives, OSHA Training Institute Education Centers, state consultation programs and OSHA-approved state plans, the agency invites employers and workers to learn how to conduct a safety stand-down and view a video on fall safety that includes a message from a former construction worker and fall survivor.
OSHA’s stop falls website offers safety information and video presentations in English and Spanish to teach workers about fall hazards and proper safety procedures.
The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.