Inspection Detail

Inspection: 317176519 - San Francisco A-1 Roofing & Maintenance Co, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: San Francisco District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 9:30 a.m. on January 2, 2014, Employee #1, a roofer employed by San Francisco A-1 Roofing & Maintenance Co., Inc., was engaged in roofing work at a two-story house. He climbed up an extension ladder to the roof. He then stood on a roof jack scaffold that had been installed on the roof. The roof jack came loose, and Employee #1 fell to the ground, along with the roof jack and other roofing material. The fall height was approximately 16 feet from the roof eave to the ground. Emergency services were called, and the San Francisco Fire Department responded. Employee #1 was transported to San Francisco General Hospital, where he was admitted and treated for fractured hips. He remained hospitalized for eight days. This event was reported to Cal/OSHA by the San Francisco Fire Department on January 2, 2014, and by the employer on January 3, 2014. The subsequent investigation established that Employee #1's foreman and multiple coworkers witnessed the fall. The foreman and these coworkers were interviewed. Employee #1, who was Spanish-speaking, was interviewed by a Cal/OSHA district manager who was fluent in Spanish. The employer was cited a serious violation of T8 CCR '1670(a), which requires employees to wear fall protection when sloped roof surfaces are steeper than 7:12. The slope where Employee #1 fell was steeper than 7:12. The Cal/OSHA roofing standards did not apply because the fall height was less than the minimum 20 feet from the eave to the ground specified in the standards. The employer was cited a violation of T8 CCR '342(a) for failing to report the serious employee injury within 8 hours of the incident. Other violations were documented during the investigation, and the employer was cited accordingly.

Keywords: FRACTURE, ROOF, CONSTRUCTION, EQUIPMENT FAILURE, ROOFER, FALL, FALL PROTECTION, HIP, WORK SURFACE, SCAFFOLD