For the fourth time in two years, a Connecticut roofing contractor has been cited by OSHA for fall-related hazards.
The agency’s Bridgeport Area office began investigating Total Remodeling Services after an OSHA inspector observed its employees working on a roof without any form of fall protection. The inspection also established that the workers had not been trained to recognize that they were exposed to fall hazards, nor had they been trained in properly setting up and using ladders to access the roof. They faced an additional fall hazard from carrying shingles and other materials while they were climbing ladders.
Because OSHA cited Total Remodeling Services Inc. in 2009, 2010 and 2011 for the same hazards at work sites in Bridgeport and Milford, the agency is now citing the contractor for three willful violations with $120,300 in proposed fines.
Additionally, the company was cited for one serious violation -- for allowing an employee to use his hand to extend the upper section of a ladder while he was on it – as well as one repeat violation was cited for failing to inspect a ladder for damage. The serious and repeat violations added $7,260 to the penalty total.