The whimsically-named Water Color subdivision in Santa Rosa Beach, Fla. turns out to be a dangerous place for the workers who are building it. According to OSHA investigators, workers were framing houses without required fall protection and lacked necessary PPE.

With workplace accidents always  a concern for roofing contractors, the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) has released Spanish versions of three of its safety compliance programs: Serving Up Safety: A Recipe for Avoiding Falls on the Job,  NRCA’s Material Handling Series: Overhead and Understood and NRCA’s Hazard Communications Program: Know the Signs.

 Gershenson Construction Co. Inc. has been cited by OSHA after a worker suffered a broken vertebra when he was struck by a partially suspended load of sewer pipe and knocked to the bottom of an unprotected 13-foot-deep trench. 

For the second time this year, OSHA has cited Pan-Oceanic Engineering Co. Inc. for failing to protect workers from trenching hazards at a job site at East 93rd Street and South Woodlawn Avenue in Chicago. OSHA cited the company for willful violations for again failing to protect workers from trench cave-ins while installing water and sewer lines in November 2013.

Lindamood Demolition Inc. and Texas Cutting & Coring were both cited by OSHA for a total of five violations, including two willful, following the death of a skid-steer loader operator during the redevelopment of Kyle Field Stadium at Texas A&M University.

OSHA is hoping that 25,000 employers and half a million construction workers participate in its National Safety Stand-down to Prevent Falls in Construction, which starts today and runs through Friday. Reaching that goal means reaching nearly one in ten workers in the industry.

The United Union of Roofers, Waterproofers and Allied Workers (UURWAW) and National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) are supporting the National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction, organized by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), taking place throughout the U.S. from June 2-6, 2014.

Following the death of 23-year-old construction worker Kyle Brown, OSHA found that his employer, Watertown-based general construction contractor MTL Design Inc., failed to provide and ensure the use of fall protection safeguards that would have prevented his death. OSHA cited the company for a willful and a serious violation.

It’s legal in emerging nations but banned in the developed world (although you can still find it in many buildings). An international coalition called for it to be banned globally 25 years ago, but as an industry, it continues to thrive.