Dive Brief:
- The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has once again cited Berlin Builders of New Jersey with several fall-related hazards on a project in Philadelphia, PA, and fined the contractor $106,740 — bringing total fines for Berlin close to $900,000.
- As a result of the latest inspection, the agency issued Berlin one willful, two repeat and two serious violations after investigators found Berlin employees working without fall protection at heights of 38 feet, as well as other safety violations.
- According to OSHA, it has inspected Berlin 27 times in the last 12 months — primarily for fall hazards — and Berlin, which has only been in business since March 2015, has failed 21 times.
Dive Insight:
In addition to citing Berlin for fall hazards, OSHA also found that Berlin failed to have anyone making regular safety inspections, failed to provide training for fall hazards, did not make sure employees were using eye protection when needed and did not require employees to be properly trained on forklifts.
"Berlin Builders has an extensive OSHA history that reflects a callous disregard for its employees," Nicholas DeJesse, director of OSHA's Philadelphia area office, said in a press release. "A developer and contractor that hire this company are truly rolling the dice on worker safety."
As OSHA said in its statement, Berlin has failed several inspections in the last 12 months at job sites in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. In one instance, the agency referred to Berlin as a "serial violator."
This week mark's OSHA's National Safety Stand-Down To Prevent Falls in Construction, an annual event the agency uses to raise awareness of falls as the major cause of death among construction workers and to educate employers and employees on how to prevent them. OSHA is encouraging construction companies to conduct their own "safety stand-downs" by taking a job site break to discuss fall prevention, inspect safety equipment and address any safety-related concerns that workers might have.