Roofing company fined
- Oregon OSHA cited Forest Grove contractor J&K Roofing Co. $39,000 for repeatedly violating a requirement to provide protection to safeguard workers from fall hazards that could injure or kill them.
- The citation resulted from an inspection launched in response to a complaint filed with Oregon OSHA.
- The inspection of J&K Roofing focused on a job site in Aloha, where reroofing work was being done on a 2-story church. Oregon OSHA’s inspection included employee and manager interviews, measurements of the fall hazard, and reported observation of one employee working at heights with no fall protection system in place.
- That employee was exposed to a potential fall of at least 12 feet.
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Construction firms need to get up to speed with OSHA
- Changes in OSHA guidelines may mean construction firms are not operating in compliance.
- Reviewing safety protocols may require some time and investment, but it’s far less than the cost of project disruption, injuries, and liability lawsuits.
- OSHA breaks safety standards are updated regularly; for example, trenching safety best practices were updated in 2022. Site managers and other construction leaders are responsible for creating a safe environment.
- OSHA’s guidelines go beyond preventing falls and there are rules for everything from on-site fuel storage and use to emergency measures to employee training in safety.
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Port of Portland honored for safety
- The Port of Portland received the third annual Prevention through Design (PtD) Award at the National Safety Council’s (NSC) Safety Congress & Expo in New Orleans.
- The Port of Portland, which operates Portland International Airport, was recognized for an integrated safety design process used during the airport’s Parking and Rental Car Center project, the $325 million construction of five facilities.
- The Port of Portland was nominated for following PtD methods in its safety design process, which incorporated the hierarchy of controls to reduce inherent risks at multiple stages of the facility life cycle, including construction, operations, and maintenance.
- The project team included the Port of Portland, general contractor JE Dunn, and design contractor YGH.
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Construction worker injured at former cafe
- A construction worker was rescued from the old Railroad Cafe after part of the foundation collapsed in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
- The East Rutherford Fire Department was called to 170 Union Ave. just after 1:30 p.m. after getting word that there had been a wall collapse and someone was trapped, a Facebook post said.
- When safety teams arrived, crews found three workers in the basement, with one pinned beneath the collapsed wall and the basement floor slab.
- The building that housed the former restaurant had been purchased by a developer and was being renovated.
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