OSHA has cited D.R. Horton and Garcia Carpentry for fall protection violations at an Ocala, Fla. job site.
Inspectors observed employees installing roofing sheathing without fall protection, leading to five safety violations. The inspection was part of the OSHA's Regional Emphasis Program on falls in construction.
The agency issued D.R. Horton one repeated citation for failing to ensure subcontractor employees were protected with a fall protection system when working from heights up to 25 feet.
Garcia Carpentry, a framing contractor also performing work at the job site, was issued a repeated citation and an additional repeated for allowing workers to use the top step of a ladder to access and exit the roofing trusses.
"Both D.R. Horton and Garcia Carpentry recognize the hazards associated with working at heights more than 6 feet, yet failed to provide employees with the training, protection and tools required to safeguard them from the construction industry's leading cause of death - unprotected falls," said Brian Sturtecky, OSHA's area director in Jacksonville in a statement. "Four in 10 industry fatalities result from preventable falls. The consequences of not being prepared and complacent can lead to disaster. Employers must be diligent and demand safe work practices on all job sites."
Garcia also received two serious violations for employees not wearing hard hats and for operating powered nail guns without eye protection.
Proposed penalties for the violations total $107,785.
The companies have 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, request a conference with OSHA's area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review
