Question

Please read and react to the current event article in the "Health and Wellness of Workers in Industry" Below. Your response should be at least 6 sentences. and address the key points of this article.

OSHA again cites Tip Top Roofing for failing to provide workers fall protection

Date investigation initiated and what prompted inspection:On Nov. 4, 2014, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Aurora Area Office initiated an inspection of roofing contractor Tip Top Roofing & Construction Inc. after receiving a complaint alleging workers were exposed to fall hazards at a residential jobsite in DeKalb.

Investigation findings:

OSHA issued two willful and four serious violations for exposing workers to falls and other hazards while re-roofing an existing residence

Two willful violations cite the company for:

Exposing workers to fall hazards of about 22 feet because the company failed to provide fall protection

Failing to extend a ladder at least three feet above the landing to provide safe roof access Four serious violations involve allowing employees to perform roofing work in close proximity to energized power lines, lack of personal protective equipment and allowing employees to carry loads of plywood and other roofing materials while climbing ladders.

The company has been cited multiple times since 2008 for fall safety violations. The most recent citations were issued in 2013.

Quote:

“A roofer can fall to his death in mere seconds. By refusing to provide fall protection to its workers, Tip Top Roofing and Construction is gambling with workers’ lives and livelihood —and that is unacceptable,” said Jacob Scott, OSHA’s Area Director in Aurora. “With everything we know about how to work safely, it’s troubling to see how many workers are still injured every year in the construction trades, and particularly from falls.”

Each year 38,000 construction injuries are reported. Fatal falls, slips, or trips took the lives of 699 workers in 2013. Falls to a lower level accounted for 574 of those fatalities. About half of the 1.6 million Americans employed in the construction industry, work in residential construction.

Answer 1

OSHA is Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA has laid down certain guidelines to make the workplace safer for the employees and workers. The employers are required to follow the guidelines and norms laid down by OSHA as per their industry and work environment. In the given case, Tip Top Roofing & Construction Inc. is clearly a violator of OSHA guidelines. The work of re-roofing is quite dangerous and needs special precautionary measures. However the company was not taking adequate measures to protect the lives of the employees. This was illustrated in the rising number of complaints and accidents in the company. The company needs to pay punitive measures for the violations. Also as the company has been a defaulter since 2008 for various fall safety violations, the OSHA committee needs to take strict action against the company. The corporate governance as well as the administration of the company, needs to be more vigilant for norm adherence and to ensure workplace safety.