Dive Brief:
- The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Massachusetts contractor Barnes Building & Management Group for one willful and one serious safety violation in connection with a September collapse at Bryant University in Smithfield, RI, according to WPRI. The agency also fined Barnes $59,290.
- OSHA investigators found that Barnes could have prevented the collapse of a 30-foot steel structure that trapped and injured six workers if they had installed adequate bracing to ensure the framework’s stability.
- According to WPRI, Barnes was previously fined for a fall at a construction site that resulted in a Massachusetts worker being impaled on a metal bar.
Dive Insight:
"Stability needs to be maintained throughout the steel erection process so that a collapse such as this one does not occur," Patrick Griffin, OSHA's Rhode Island area director, said in a release. "Barnes Building & Management Group knew this and also knew it needed to follow the manufacturer's erection plan. Instead, the company chose to disregard these important safeguards, resulting in a needless and preventable collapse and injuries."
In a company statement, Barnes said it erected the structure according to the manufacturer’s instructions and industry standards. The company also said the two OSHA citations are "surprising and unwarranted." Barnes said it "places a premium on safety" and that it was the company’s strict safety policies that saved employee lives on the day of the collapse.
In August of this year, alleged safety violators like Barnes could see their fines increase 80% or more when OSHA raises its fine levels to be in accordance with increases to the Consumer Price Index since 1990, the time of the last OSHA fine increase.