OSHA Fines Trio of Contractors for Safety Hazards at N.H. Construction Site

Three contractors face a total of $67,600 in fines from the U.S. Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for a variety of fall hazards found at the construction site of five four-story townhouses in Hampton, New Hampshire.

Cited were New Generation Construction LLC of Peterborough, N.H.; D&F Builders LLC of Hooksett, N.H.; and Enrique Reynoso of Lynn, Mass. OSHA began its inspection Feb. 2, 2005, when an inspector observed fall hazards while driving past the Dustin Rd. jobsite.

“Workers at this site were exposed to falls of up to four stories from unguarded roofs, scaffolding, aerial lifts, open-sided floors and window openings,” said Rosemarie Ohar, OSHA’s New Hampshire area director. “This is particularly disturbing since falls are one of the four leading causes of death in construction work.”

New Generation, a framing contractor, faces $49,000 in fines. The company was issued two willful citations for lack of fall protection for employees working from an aerial lift and exposing employees to falls from unprotected window openings and open-sided floors. OSHA also issued a repeat citation for no fall protection for employees working on scaffolding, and three serious citations for missing stair rails, missing stairway guardrails and an unsafe portable ladder.

D&F, which was installing siding, was fined $15,600. The firm received one willful citation for inadequate fall protection for employees working on scaffolding and five serious citations for unsecured and improperly erected scaffolding, no head protection for employees working beneath scaffolding, an inadequately guarded table saw and an unsafe ladder. Reynoso, a roofing subcontractor, was fined $3,000 for four serious citations for no fall protection for employees working on roofs, inadequately anchored fall protection, an unsafe ladder and failing to train employees in when and how to utilize fall protection.

Each company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to either elect to comply with them, to request and participate in an informal conference with the OSHA area director, or to contest them before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.