OSHA has cited Bennett Building Systems LLC for eight violations after a November 2013 inspection at the company’s Augusta, Ga., manufacturing facility.
Bennett Building Systems, which makes barns, carports, garages and other custom structures, faces $89,000 in proposed fines.
“Management asserted that they ‘had not gotten around to providing fall protection’ at this facility,” said Bill Fulcher, director of OSHA's Atlanta-East Area Office. “I find the employer’s decision to disregard established safety procedures and knowingly put workers at risk of serious injury or death very troubling. OSHA standards are there to protect workers from predictable and preventable injuries and deaths."
OSHA issued a willful citation, carrying $55,000 in fines, for Bennett’s alleged failure to provide fall protection for employees working on roofs of metal and wooden structures. OSHA said it discovered that employees were working at heights higher than nine feet without fall protection.
The agency issued six serious citations for exposing workers to unguarded grinders and saw blades; noise levels in excess of safe levels; and failing to protect workers from welding rays by using flameproof screens or shields.
OSHA cited Bennett for one other-than-serious violation for failing to implement a written hazard communication plan.
Bennett Building Systems is part of Bennett International Group LLC, a McDonough, Ga.-based transportation and logistics company, according to its website. The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations to accept or contest OSHA’s findings.
OSHA noted that the agency is partnering with the construction industry to host a national safety stand-down on fall prevention from June 2-6 to raise awareness among employers and workers about the hazards of falls.