Lynn roofing company cited by OSHA

LYNN – A roofing company owned by City Councilor William Trahant has been cited for safety violations for the fourth time in four years and faces $43,560 in proposed fines for exposing workers to potential falls.”Trahant Construction continues to demonstrate a wanton disregard for employee safety, exposing its employees to deadly or disabling injuries on multiple occasions,” said Anthony Covello, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) acting area director. “Falls are the leading cause of death in construction work. This employer must take steps to effectively train and enforce a culture of safety for himself and his employees.”William J. Trahant, Jr. Construction, Inc., was cited by OSHA for one “willful,” one “repeat,” and three “serious” violations of workplace safety and health standards, according to a press release from the agency. The citations resulted from an inspection at a worksite on Congress Street in Salem on Oct. 27, and were made in response to a complaint, OSHA said. The project involved repairing an asphalt shingle roof on a three-story home.All violations except one, however, were corrected during the inspection.The citations include a “serious” violation consisting of three individual items: A worker was not wearing a hardhat while working on the ground beneath the roofers on the roof; workers were using equipment that did not meet safety guidelines for a personal fall arrest system; workers were using a portable ladder with split rails and bent rungs.All of these issues were corrected during the inspection. The proposed fines for the items are $3,080 each for items 1 and 2, and $2,200 for item 3 – a total of $8,360.The company was cited for a “willful” violation because employees were not protected from falling while working on a roof that was more than 6 feet above a lower level.This was also corrected during the inspection; the proposed fine is $30,800.Finally, the company was cited for a “repeat” violation of not training employees to recognize hazards of falling and safe procedures to prevent falls.A $4,400 fine is proposed, and the violation was to be corrected by Feb. 12, according to the OSHA press release.The proposed fines total $43,560.The citations characterized as “willful” and “repeat” stem from Trahant Construction being previously cited for violations. OSHA cited the firm in August 2014 for a worksite in Revere, in September 2012 for a worksite in Peabody, and July 2011 for another site in Peabody.Trahant could not be reached for comment Wednesday.OSHA spokesman Edmund Fitzgerald said Trahant has 15 business days from receiving the citations – which were issued Feb. 6, according to the citations – to meet with OSHA or to contest the fines. Any settlement reached would address the correction of the hazards and payment of the fine, Fitzgerald said. If the company contests, the case will go to litigation before the review commission. If OSHA receives no response, Trahant loses appeal rights and the citations and fines become final.Fitzgerald was unable to say if the previous years’ citations had resulted in any fines, as the OSHA website with the information was down on Wednesday.