OSHA

OSHA acts to protect residential roofing workers

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OSHA acts to protect residential roofing workers 12/27/2010 WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration today announced a new directive withdrawing a former one that allowed residential builders to bypass fall protection requirements. The directive being replaced, issued in 1995, initially was intended as a temporary policy and was the result of concerns about the feasibility of fall protection in residential building construction. However, there continues to be a high number of fall-related deaths in construction, and industry experts now feel that feasibility is no longer an issue or concern.

"Fatalities from falls are the number one cause of workplace deaths in construction. We cannot tolerate workers getting killed in residential construction when effective means are readily available to prevent those deaths," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. "Almost every week, we see a worker killed from falling off a residential roof. We can stop these fatalities, and we must."

The National Association of Home Builders recommended rescinding the 1995 directive, as did OSHA's labor-management Advisory Committee for Construction Safety and Health; the AFL-CIO; and the Occupational Safety and Health State Plan Association, which represents the 27 states and territories that run their own occupational safety and health programs.

According to data from the department's Bureau of Labor Statistics, an average of 40 workers are killed each year as a result of falls from residential roofs. One-third of those deaths represent Latino workers, who often lack sufficient access to safety information and protections. Latino workers comprise more than one-third of all construction employees.

OSHA's action today rescinds the Interim Fall Protection Compliance Guidelines for Residential Construction, Standard 03-00-001. Prior to the issuance of this new directive, Standard 03-00-001 allowed employers engaged in certain residential construction activities to use specified alternative methods of fall protection rather than the conventional fall protection required by the residential construction fall protection standard. With the issuance of today's new directive, all residential construction employers must comply with 29 Code of Federal Regulations 1926.501(b)(13). Where residential builders find that traditional fall protection is not feasible in residential environments, 29 CFR 1926.501(b)(13) still allows for alternative means of providing protection.

Construction and roofing companies will have up to six months to comply with the new directive. OSHA has developed training and compliance assistance materials for small employers and will host a webinar for parties interested in learning more about complying with the standard. To view the directive and for more information, visit http://www.osha.gov/doc/residential_...rotection.html

Here is yet another example of nanny state run amuck: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/another-example-of-nycs-oppressive-business-environment-you-need-a-license-to-pump-gas/

twill59 Said: Very few are against a safe workplace and a healthy life for all. The few that are unfortunately, will never have a problem until a death or tragedy occurs. Then everyone will get hammered because OSHA and government criminals did not care.

Say a few words about STOOOOOOOPID regulations and you are suddenly anti safety, anti family and totally against GOD and country.

(works the same w/ unnecessary taxes, waste and gooberm$nt boondoggles.....Hmmmmmmmmm)

Cheat lie and steal.........and you will find yourself amongst in good company with those in positions of power. :woohoo:

Yep!

Keeping employees well-paid and safe is just good business. Having the government force you to do it does very very little to improve either. Those who understand that paying employees a fair wage and keeping a safe workplace is good business, are doing that already. Those that aren't inclined to do those things, summarily ignore government regulations that require it. OSHA does little more than widen the cost gap between good roofing company owners and the fly-by-nights.

There are so many examples of this, I'm surprised everyone doesn't get it. Guns is yet another. The government does its best to discourage firearm ownership through background checks or, in the case of Chicago, out-and-out denial of that Second Amendment right. And we all know that the law doesn't get in the way of the guy making his living robbing Burger Kings. The law has the exact opposite affect as was intended - it disarms law-abiding citizens, and provides cover for the crimminals for whom that law is no obstacle.

Very few are against a safe workplace and a healthy life for all. The few that are unfortunately, will never have a problem until a death or tragedy occurs. Then everyone will get hammered because OSHA and government criminals did not care.

Say a few words about STOOOOOOOPID regulations and you are suddenly "anti safety", anti family and totally against GOD and country.

(works the same w/ unnecessary taxes, waste and gooberm$nt boondoggles.....Hmmmmmmmmm)

Cheat lie and steal.........and you will find yourself amongst in good company with those in positions of power. :woohoo:

I'm a Libertarian. I don't agree with everything Libertarian, but I fully agree with the priciple of limited government and that every role the government attempts to assume for itself should have to be supported by the Constitution. While it's easy to see that OSHA can in some cases improve safety, I believe they do net harm rather than good. It's a little like demanding all car drivers wear fireproof racing suits and helmets - granted, that would save lives, but the net negative is larger than any potential benefit. More importantly, that's something the free market should decide, not the government.

A better example of this can be experienced everytime you go through the TSA at the airport. It's a perfect example of the government trying to help and making matters worse. Let the airlines handle security, and remove the "profiling" barriers, and tomorrow we'd be back to the days when your wife and kids could accompany you to your gate after briskly walking through a simple metal detector.

Government intrusion is seldom the answer.

I don't think Tim is right in this case. I'm not saying I believe there aren't numerous people in government who salivate at the opportunity to rake in a ton of penalty income, and I admit freely that I have not researched the particular individuals well enough to be certain about this, but I truly suspect this whole business is the result of some whacked out do-gooder living entirely in his head with no clue about what makes real life worth living. Perfectionist, fey, and futile idiocy at its best. Let me see now, if we could only find a way to plug up this blow-hole we could get rid of all these annoying little puffs of steam. If it moves, kill it. I've already made my case, but I'm going to keep at this forever. This is a DESPICABLE development. Not even worthy of contempt. Criminal tyranny. Absolutely loathsome.

Oh Egg, I couldn't agree with you more. We have all been classified idiots, we cannot think for ourselves. So untrue, we had one bad accident with a young newbie, handling insulation board, blew him off the roof. He was hurt but survived. Not a nice story. You got me with the climbing the tree thing, my grandaughter climbs my trees. I love it, I climbed trees all the time, I was quite the tomboy. She is supervised, advised and watched. Could something happen YES, I'm not being nieve, but to take a simple pleasure away from a child or adult is ludicriss (sp?)She just came in the other week and said "Grandma I broke your tree". She stepped on a branch too weak to hold her, so I went out and showed her if you can shake it with your hands, you don't step on it. Simple enough. I haven't met a roofer yet that wants to be unsafe. Trust of judgement has to be recognized. OK I said my peace. PC

Thanks, RG

I never want to write a letter, look at a spouse or try to find the words to tell someone that their son or daughter died on my watch because I didnt require a safe workplace. If thats not enough maybe the fines will.

That's a crock of BS!!! If that dimwit gave a damn about "the spouse" he would demand the fines went to her rather than some over-bloated, ran by non-sensical flunkies, red tape entangled, communistic buracracy.

I think all OSHA inspectors should be required to wear a harness and dragging lanyard around the office for one day a month. It wouldnt take long before they came to realize this is stupid, annoying, unnecessary, the lanyard is constantly catching on things, the harness is bunching up on me, its increasing anger and making the whole workplace hostile.

It wouldn't do any good. It has less to do with safety than it does with fines and perpetuating the nanny state. It's a tax, pure and simple. They're just going thru the back door to get it.

I remember when this country was free.

Thanks egg

[size=5]"...40 feet to his death through a roof opening ... "[/size]

What in the hell does that have to do with a 4/12 single-story residential building???? [size=4]Get real.[/size] :angry:

Here's a cut and paste from Wikipedia,

"...While recognizing bureaucracy as the most efficient form of organization, and even indispensable for the modern state, Weber also saw it as a threat to individual freedoms, and the ongoing bureaucratization as leading to a "polar night of icy darkness", in which increasing rationalization of human life traps individuals in the aforementioned "iron cage" of bureaucratic, rule-based, rational control.[8][3] In order to counteract bureaucrats, the system needs entrepreneurs and politicians.[3 ..."

[size=5]"...because I didn't require a safe workplace... "[/size]

That's what this discussion is all about: Not WHO decides what is safe, but WHAT is safe. I personally think hardhats should be replaced with crash helmets. Furthermore, it should be a felony to allow your children to climb a tree. We take entirely too many risks in this country. What we need is a uniform population where everyone is obese, lazy, stupid, harnessed, and the most dangerous thing they ever encounter is the edge of a couch or a bag of Fritos. No offense, but you don't even know the meaning of :angry: soldierboy. You can glare at me all you like. I've been doing this forty years and nobody has even come close to dying. And YES, we do HAVE and USE fall protection when it is reasonable. We don't even LIKE heights. We NEVER fool around on heights!!! You only need babysitters when you put babies on your payroll. I have no interest in working with or around babies or morons. Dying is not so bad when you compare it to living in a strait-jacket because you have allowed the lowest common denominator to DICTATE a standard for everyone. Heart attacks are a huge killer, WAY more of a killer than construction falls. Why are you not required to buy a BP monitor and use it EVERY time you drive-up to one of those burger windows and order your Big Fries and Jumbo Snack. It's time to start making Citizens Arrests, isn't it. Sanctimony. Nothing but blatantly empty sanctimony.

egg Said: ...Over 5,700 men or woman died from preventable falls last year....

I just love statistics. In our industry: 40 Doesnt matter how many ropes. Doesnt matter how many hardhats. Doesnt matter how many combat boots.

40 in the whole country in the whole year for the whole industry. No matter what anybody does, incidents will end up being assigned to that statistical column. Even if you outlawed roofing altogether.

I am disgusted. Nanny state. r-i-d-i-c-u-l-o-u-s