Construction fall results in $1.85 million fine
Federal safety officials are continuing to emphasize the importance of protecting workers from fall hazards, most recently with $1.85 million in fines against a company in Guam.
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration in Washington, DC, originally proposed $8.26 million in penalties for 118 alleged willful violations of requirements for protecting workers against fall hazards. The total fine was reduced after negotiations in which the company agreed to improve safety and health programs.
Such penalty reductions are standard procedure after OSHA’s initial investigation and penalty proposal. As part of the agreement, OSHA dropped the "willful" classification of the violations and the company withdrew its legal challenge to the citations.
OSHA investigated after 41-year-old Son Dal Kun, a welder, fell 65 feet to his death on March 28, 1995, while walking on unsecured steel decking on a roof overhang. The decking shifted from the support members, causing Kun to fall. He was not wearing a safety harness, and there was no other safety system in place to arrest his fall.
The fine is assessed against Samsung Guam, which was in charge of steel erection at the Guam International Air Terminal expansion and renovation project. The same OSHA standards apply to employers in U.S. territories as they do in the United States proper.
The agreement between Samsung and the agency also calls for the company to perform written safety and health audits before beginning work on any construction job in the United States during the next two years.
• Worksite-based Disability Management: Effective Strategies and Tools to Control Workers’ Compensation and Disability Insurance Costs Feb. 6, 1997, McLean, VA; March 6, 1997, Dallas, TX. Sponsor: National Disability Management Institute. Contact: Ronald Peyton. Telephone: (770) 569-1171.
• Cumulative Trauma Disorders: Nursing Assessment and Protocols Training Program Feb. 11-12, 1997. Sponsor: Advantage Health Systems. Contact: Kathryn Hutchins. Telephone: (913) 438-8400.
• Downsizing: The Role of Occupational Health Nursing, Management, and Human Resources April 8, 1997, Darien, IL. Sponsor: Southwestern Suburban Chicago, IL, American Association of Occupational Health Nurses. Contact: Marilyn Mason. Telephone: (630) 979-9277.
• 1997 American Occupational Health Conference May 9-16, 1997, Orlando, FL. Sponsors: American Association of Occupational Health Nurses and the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Contacts: AAOHN. Telephone: (404) 262-1162; ACOEM. Telephone: (847) 228-6850.
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