Region 5 News Release: 13-2109-CHI
Nov. 20, 2013
Contact: Scott Allen Rhonda Burke
Phone: 312-353-6976
Email: allen.scott@dol.gov burke.rhonda@dol.gov

Affordable Roofing and Exteriors cited by US Department of Labor's OSHA
for exposing roofing workers to fall hazards on central Illinois job sites

TRENTON, Ill. – Affordable Roofing and Exteriors Inc. has been cited by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration for five safety violations, carrying proposed penalties of $158,015, following inspections at three job sites where workers were not provided fall protection during the installation of shingles on residential roofs. Since 2009, the Trenton-based company has been cited in five inspections for similar violations.

"It's unacceptable that Affordable Roofing and Exteriors repeatedly fails in its responsibility to ensure that workers use fall protection," said Karl Armstrong, OSHA's assistant area director in Fairview Heights. "Falls remain the leading cause of death in the construction industry, and companies must implement safeguards and create a culture of safety."

Residential job sites were inspected on July 15 in the 1400 block of Nameoki Road in Granite City. On June 27, an inspection took place in the 700 block of Lebanon Avenue in Belleville. On May 16, an inspection occurred in the 200 block of Dodge in Belleville.

At each job site, a willful violation was cited for failing to ensure workers used fall protection while performing residential roofing. The inspections were initiated under the national emphasis program for fall safety. A willful violation is one committed with intentional, knowing or voluntary disregard for the law's requirement, or with plain indifference to employee safety and health.

Two serious violations were cited at the Belleville job site for failing to provide eye protection to workers who used pneumatic nail guns and provide a ladder to access upper landings safely. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.

OSHA has created a Stop Falls Web page at http://www.osha.gov/stopfalls with detailed information in English and Spanish on fall protection standards. The page offers fact sheets, posters and videos that vividly illustrate various fall hazards and appropriate preventive measures. OSHA standards require that an effective form of fall protection, such as guardrails, safety nets or personal fall arrest systems, be in use when workers perform construction activities 6 feet or more above the next lower level.

To view the current citations see
http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/AffordableRoofingandExteriorsInc_915143_1114_13.pdf*
http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/AffordableRoofingandExteriorsInc_907102_1114_13.pdf*
http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/AffordableRoofingandExteriorsInc_920930_1114_13.pdf*

Affordable Roofing and Exteriors 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.

To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint, or report workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency's Fairview Heights Area Office at 618-632-8612. Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.

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U.S. Department of Labor news materials are accessible at http://www.dol.gov. The information above is available in large print, Braille, audio tape or disc from the COAST office upon request by calling 202-693-7828 or TTY 202-693-7755.

* Accessibility Assistance: Contact OSHA's Office of Communications at 202-693-1999 for assistance accessing PDF materials.