OSHA Fines San Antonio Lath & Plaster $63,600

http://www.ohsonline.com/articles/65495/

July 18, 2008

OSHA has cited San Antonio Lath & Plaster in San Antonio, Texas for four alleged serious, three alleged repeat, and one other-than-serious safety violations carrying proposed penalties totaling $63,600.

"This company has been cited 13 times by OSHA since 1999 for similar violations at construction sites in various cities," said Eric Harbin, OSHA's area director in Austin, Texas. "In this case, it is fortunate that no one was injured."

Following an inspection that began January 24 at the company's worksite in San Antonio, OSHA has issued four serious citations for failure to provide employees with fall protection while working on a rooftop structure, failing to ensure that scaffold planking extended no farther than 12 inches past scaffold supports, failing to ensure that a competent person supervised the scaffold being moved and not implementing a hazard communication program.

Repeat violations include failure to ensure the use of hard hats to protect employees from falling objects, and to provide scaffold platforms with handrails and toe boards. The other-than-serious violation relates to San Antonio Lath & Plaster's failure to provide OSHA injury and illness logs.

The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director in Austin, or contest the citations and penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.