A Suamico, Wisc. roofing contractor faces more than $180,000 in fines by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which has accused the company of “repeatedly failing to protect employees and subcontractors from deadly fall hazards.”
In a Nov. 27 news release, OSHA said it opened inspections after two incidents earlier this year involving the company. Federal workplace safety inspectors observed Overhead Solutions LLC’s employees working about 30 feet above the ground on a Menasha apartment complex roof without adequate fall protection.
OSHA says this happened after an Overhead Solutions LLC manager attended an on-site training discussion on fall hazards last May. Menasha is about 38 miles southwest of Green Bay.
The second incident, in Appleton, Wisc., about 33 miles southwest of Green Bay, involved subcontractors on a 10-foot-high roof, where workers lacked fall protection, and the manager did not correct the hazard, the Dept. of Labor said.
At the Menasha site, the Dept. of Labor said inspectors found employees wearing fall protection harnesses and anchors installed on the building’s roof with ropes attached to the anchors. Still, readily accessible lifelines were not connected as required. Inspectors also found employees exposed to deadly fall hazards as they unloaded a pallet raised to the roof by a mechanical lift.
In Appleton, OSHA inspectors found a lack of fall protection, learned the company had no documented accident prevention plan, and noted the site’s project manager did not correct fall protection hazards in plain view.
The company received citations for four repeat violations and one serious violation of federal fall protection standards. The repeat violations are similar to those for which OSHA cited the company in Neenah, Seymour, and Wrightstown in 2022.
OSHA has assessed the company with $180,469 in proposed penalties, the Dept. of Labor said.
The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
A call placed to representatives of Overhead Solutions for comment had not been returned before this article was posted.
