Region 1 News Release: BOS 2000-002
Monday, January 3, 2000
Contact: Ted Fitzgerald
PHONE :(617) 565-2074
OSHA CITES TWO CONTRACTORS FOR ALLEGED WILLFUL AND SERIOUS SAFETY
VIOLATIONS AT NORTH CONWAY, NEW HAMPSHIRE, WORKSITE; OVER $76,000 IN TOTAL
PENALTIES PROPOSED
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) of the U.S.
Labor Department has cited two construction contractors - Alvin J. Coleman
& Son, Inc., of Conway, New Hampshire, and Hardscapes, Inc., of
Portland, Maine - for alleged Willful and Serious violations of the
Occupational Safety and Health Act at a North Conway, NH, worksite. OSHA
has proposed combined penalties against the two contractors totaling
$76,500.
According to David May, OSHA area director for New Hampshire, the
alleged violations were discovered during an inspection initiated
September 13, 1999 at a supermarket construction site located on Route 302
in North Conway. On that day, a Coleman & Son employee was injured
when he became caught between the rotating superstructure of an excavator
and an adjacent embankment. Alvin J. Coleman & Son, Inc., was the
general contractor for sitework on the project while Hardscapes, Inc. was
the subcontractor building a masonry wall at the rear of the site.
"The inspection found that Coleman & Son employees were
exposed to the hazard of being caught and crushed between the rotating
body of the excavator and an adjacent embankment and also had not been
trained to recognize such a hazard," said May. "In addition, the
embankment itself had not been shored or sloped at a shallow angle to
eliminate the hazard of a possible collapse."
The inspection also found that employees of both contractors were
exposed to potential falls of up to 19 feet to the ground from the top
surface of the masonry wall that was under construction at the time of the
inspection. As a result, both Coleman & Son and Hardscapes, Inc. are
being cited for allegedly failing to provide fall protection and fall
protection training for their respective employees.
"One of the most important tools employees can bring onto a
jobsite is the ability to spot and avoid hazards associated with the work
they perform," said May. "That's why training, combined with
safe work practices and equipment, is key to preventing on-the-job
injuries."
Specifically, the citations and proposed penalties against each company
is as follows:
Alvin J. Coleman & Son, Inc. Total Proposed Penalties: $68,000
One alleged Willful violation, with a proposed penalty of $56,000 for:
 | failure to provide fall protection for employees constructing a
masonry wall. |
Four alleged Serious violations, with $12,000 in proposed penalties,
for
| failure to provide a place of employment free from recognized
hazards likely to cause death or serious physical harm to workers in
that employees were exposed to the hazard of being caught between the
rotating superstructure of an excavator and an earthen embankment;
failure to train employees in the hazards posed by rotating equipment
and clearances between equipment and solid objects; |
| failure to develop a fall protection training program and to provide
such training to exposed employees;
| failure to properly slope or shore earthen embankments against
possible collapse; |
| nonfunctioning backup alarm on a truck. |
|
Hardscapes, Inc. Total Proposed Penalties: $8,500
One alleged Willful violation, with a $7,000 proposed penalty, for:
| failure to provide fall protection for employees constructing a
masonry wall. |
One alleged Serious violation, with a proposed fine of $1,500, for:
| failure to develop a fall protection training program and provide
such training to exposed employees. |
May urged Granite State employers and employees with questions
regarding workplace safety and health standards to contact the OSHA area
office in Concord and added that OSHA's toll-free, nationwide hotline
--1-800-321-OSHA (1-800-321-6742)-- may be used to report workplace
accidents or fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers,
especially if they occur outside of normal business hours.
A willful violation is defined by OSHA as one committed with an
intentional disregard of, or plain indifference to, the requirements of
the Occupational Safety and Health Act and regulations. A serious
violation is defined as one in which there is a substantial probability
that death or serious physical harm could result, and the employer knew,
or should have known, of the hazard.
OSHA is empowered by the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to
issue standards and rules requiring employers to provide their employees
with safe and healthful workplaces and jobsites, and to assure through
workplace inspections that those standards are followed.
Each company has 15 working 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.
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