Burbank, CA, USA, February 6, 2012 - The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s 2011 year-end review of the “Most Cited Violations” ranked lack of proper fall protection at the very top of the list.
This is not a surprise to OSHA’s Directorate of Construction Jim Maddux who explained in December’s issue of Safety and Health that “Falls continue to be the leading cause of fatality in the construction industry. Even though construction work has declined in the last few years, 260 construction workers died from falls in 2010.”
260 fall fatalities in one field alone were more than enough to inspire last year’s crackdown on the misuse and non-usage of fall protection equipment. A total of 7,139 violations were served throughout country. The most expensive fine was roughly $1 million for willfully failing to provide adequate protection and training
“When I see workers at 30 and 40 feet connected to nothing, it says something; that there’s a complete disregard, resentment, for [falls] as a realistic injury” said Scott MacKay, director of the OSHA Training Institute in San Diego.
This disregard is a point of frustration for many in the safety field. Falls are the most dangerous risks Americans face each work day, yet the pervading mentality toward safe practices is often derision for safety.
John McHugh, CEO of Versatile Systems, Inc., a California fall protection company, believes that: “It’s often complacency. Old timers stuck in their ways; and because they never received formal training they don’t understand the benefits. Financially speaking, neither do the company execs more concerned for their bottom line.”
If they did understand the costs, fall protection would be a non-issue; the price of depriving workers of fall protection is staggering. Of OSHA’s Top 10 highest monetary penalties during 2011, three were due to inadequate fall protection. Combined, the three cases alone roughly totaled $2 million in fines; these fines do not even include the cost of worker’s compensation companies must pay-
Safety trainings from OSHA such as fall protection, hazwoper programs, osha 10 hour training courses and more can definitely help not just falling accidents but also other hazards and dangers at work by eliminating them.
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