The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced August 2 that a Houston steel erection company is facing $266,416 in proposed penalties for fall protection violations.
Sonny Steel Erectors Inc. has a history of serious and repeat violations dating back more than a decade, according to the agency. However, the employer again failed to correct fall protection systems hazards, a federal workplace safety investigation found.
OSHA discovered that employees of Sonny Steel Erectors lacked required fall protection as they worked on erecting a steel building in Cypress, Texas, in February 2023.
The agency cited the company for one serious violation for not securing a ladder at its top to a rigid support, one willful violation for allowing workers to erect buildings taller than 15 feet without fall protection, and one repeat violation for failing to ensure employees using an aerial lift stood firmly on the basket’s floor and that a body belt or a lanyard was attached to the boom or basket.
OSHA previously cited Sonny Steel Erectors in February 2019, July 2019, and October 2022 for not making sure a body belt or a lanyard was attached to a boom or basket when employees worked from an aerial lift. The agency also cited the company in July 2019 and October 2020 for not ensuring employees always stood firmly on the floor of the basket and didn’t sit or climb on the edge of the basket.
“Sonny Steel Erectors seems unwilling to end its long and troubling history of putting its employees at risk of serious injury or worse,” Mhekeba Hager, OSHA’s Houston area office director, said in an agency statement. “Our latest inspection found the company failed to correct hazards associated with violations dating back to 2011. We will not allow this company to continue its willful disobedience of the law.”
Miami excavator facing $258K in OSHA fines
OSHA also announced it cited Downrite Engineering Corp. of Miami for 18 serious violations, proposing penalties totaling $258,935 after a 48-year-old diver’s death by drowning while removing debris in a canal in 8 feet of murky water.
The agency determined the company failed to do the following:
- Train dive teams in equipment use, techniques, and emergency procedures required to perform underwater tasks safely, and make sure all dive team members had cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training.
- Assess water conditions before diving, and require an experienced dive team member to supervise dredging operations in a canal with limited visibility.
- Provide workers with a safe practices manual when performing underwater diving, and maintain a first-aid kit, an emergency aid list, resuscitator equipment, and emergency procedures.
- Brief workers on basic diving procedures and environmental conditions.
- Assess the safety and health aspects of the diving mode, the underwater conditions, or emergency procedures.
- Provide employees with safety harnesses to assist an injured diver from the water, a two-way communication system, a marked umbilical in 10-foot increments, a nonreturn valve on the surfaced-supplied air, a life jacket or buoyant work vest, and a lifesaving skiff.
- Keep air compressor intakes away from areas containing exhaust or contaminants.
- Record equipment modifications, tests, calibrations, or maintenance service.
OSHA previously cited Downrite Engineering for various safety violations, including in 2019 for failing to provide an injured worker with prompt medical attention and not having medical services and first aid readily available.
“Our investigation found Downrite Engineering Corp. did not follow required standards to protect workers who conduct commercial diving activities,” Condell Eastmond, OSHA’s Fort Lauderdale, Florida, area office director, said in an agency statement.