Dean McKenzie, Director Directorate of ConstructionOccupational Safety and Health Administration

OSHA Construction Update

• Statistics

• Regulatory Update

• Enforcement

• Criminal Cases

• Crane Incident Investigations

The Construction Industry

• 90% of Construction Employers have 20 or less employees

• The industry typically has very high employment turnover rates

• Most are multi-employer worksites• 50.5% of OSHA compliance inspections are

construction (three year average, FY13-15)

Workplace Fatality Rates

Number & rate of fatal occupational injuries

Fatal falls to lower level by height of fall, 2014

Construction Industry Fatalities

Years 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Total Fatalities All Construction

774 738 806 828 899

Fatality Rates All Construction

9.8 9.1 9.9 9.7 9.8

Congress Mandated a Penalty Increase Effective August 1, 2016 The top penalty for serious violations will rise from

$7,000 to $12,471 The maximum penalty for willful or repeated

violations will increase from $70,00 to $124,709

New OSHA Penalties

OSHA’s final construction crane standard in 2010 relied exclusively on third-party certification of crane operators

After publication, stakeholders in the crane and construction industries advised that certification alone is not sufficient to ensure operator qualification

Crane Operator Qualification

• OSHA working on a draft proposed standard to address operator “qualification” and require employers to qualify crane operators, on target to publish before the end of 2016

Crane Operator Qualification

Proposed revisions to the final construction crane standard, include:

• clarifying applicability to multi-purpose machines and forklifts

• revising requirements for insulating links and proximity detectors near power lines

• re-considering the feasibility of a requirement for instruments for stabilizers on small articulating cranes

Crane Amendments

Settlement agreement with Association of American Railroads (AAR)

Settlement requires a new rulemaking

Railroads have unique equipment • often rail-mounted • asked OSHA to tailor rules

Crane Rail Road Amendments

Technical Amendments

• A true technical amendments rule is in the clearance process now.

• Will address technical errors in several standards including the crane rule.

• These include typos, incorrect references and similar minor issues.

Employers to electronically submit injury and illness data that they already record

• The new reporting requirements will be phased in over two years:

• Establishments with 250 or more employees in industries covered by the recordkeeping regulation must submit information from their 2016 Form 300A by July 1, 2017. These same employers will be required to submit information from all 2017 forms (300A, 300, and 301) by July 1, 2018. Beginning in 2019 and every year thereafter, the information must be submitted by March 2

New Record Keeping Rule

• Establishments with 20-249 employees in certain high-risk industries must submit information from their 2016 Form 300A by July 1, 2017, and their 2017 Form 300A by July 1, 2018. Beginning in 2019 and every year thereafter, the information must be submitted by March 2.

Employers to electronically submit injury and illness data that they already record

• Anti-retaliation protectionsThe rule also prohibits employers from discouraging workers from reporting an injury or illness. The final rule requires employers to inform employees of their right to report work-related injuries and illnesses free from retaliation.These provisions become effective August 10, 2016, but OSHA has delayed their enforcement until Nov. 1, 2016 in order to provide outreach to the regulated community.

Report a Fatality or Severe Injury

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http://www.osha.gov/report.html

Crane Letters Of Interpretation

• Gable - [07/28/2016] Application of construction crane standard when handling precast components. [1926.1400 ( c) (17)(i)]

• Pilgrim-[07/14/2016] Clarification of OSHA requirements for dual-rated equipment meeting consensus standards for both aerial lifts and cranes. [1926.1400; 1926.453]

 

More New Interps• Helminiak-[06/27/2016] Clarification of whether

the handling of propane tanks is considered construction. [1926.1400 ( c) (17)]

• Kosta-[06/23/2016] Whether unloading a pallet suspended by a crane is considered construction. [1926.1400 ( c) (17)]

• Henschel-[10/20/2015] Determination of when a crane was manufactured. [1926.1400; 1926.1416; 1926.1433]

Standard Description Total Violation

1926.1402(b) Ground Conditions 27

1926.1408(a)(2) Power line safety (up to 350 KV) 37

1926.1412(d)(1) Inspection 31

1926.1412(e)(1) Monthly Inspection 37

1926.1412(e)(3)(i) Documentation 34

1926.1412(f)(1) Annual/ Comprehensive inspection 79

1926.1417(c)(1) Accessibility of procedures 55

1926.1424(a)(2)(ii) Swing radius hazards 35

1926.1425(c)(3) Qualified rigger 40

1926.1428(a) Signal person qualifications 50

1926.1428(a)(3) Signal person qualifications 36

Top 10 Crane Violations Cited For The last Five Years

Criminal Liability

• OSHA’s most common enforcement tool is the civil penalty. OSHA inspects and issues violations with a penalty determined by the number and type of violations found.

• The OSH Act also contains a few criminal provisions.

Section 11(b) of the Act• Section 11(b) of the OSH Act allows OSHA

to petition the court for enforcement of any Final order of the Review Commission. The Court may decree that an employer must comply, abate and / or pay the penalties assessed.

• Failure to do so may result in contempt of court proceedings, arrest or incarceration.

Examples

• Guillermo Perez and Elma Maldonado, owners of GP roofing found in contempt for failure to abate and pay penalties. Arrested by U.S. Marshals, incarcerated for two weeks until hearing.

• Mike Neri arrested by U.S. Marshals, jailed for 3 weeks. Released after selling backhoe and agreeing to get out of the trenching business.

False Statements

• Making false statements to a Federal Official is illegal and an Attorney General can prosecute an employer.– Falsifying evidence– Fabricating stories– Intentionally deceiving a Compliance Officer– Altering physical evidence

Examples• Marcus Borden charged with making false statements

regarding incident at a jobsite in Alabama. Pleads guilty with 3 years of supervised probation and 30 days community service.

• James McCullagh pleaded guilty to four counts of making false statements, one count of obstruction of justice, and one count of willfully violating an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulation causing death to an employee. A scheduled sentencing hearing is set for March 29, 2016.  The defendant was sentenced to 10 months in prison, one year supervised release, and a $510 special assessment.

 

Other Criminal Issues

• Witness tampering

• Prosecution by local authorities

The Next Level• Manhattan DA manslaughter charges

– Wilmer Cueva – Sky Materials– Alfonso Prestia – Harco Construction

• Philadelphia murder charges, Update: The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office (DAO) on Jan. 8 announced that Griffin Campbell was sentenced to 15–30 years in prison and Sean Benschop was sentenced to 7 1/2-15 years in prison for the death of six people and injury to 14 others in the June 5, 2013, Market Street Salvation Army building collapse.

Recent Collapses Investigated by DOC

February 5, 2016, Crawler crane collapse on Worth Street in Manhattan, NYC

February 19, 2016 Crane collapse in OhioRiver near Prospect, KY

January 10, 2015, Mobile crane overturning in Brick Township, NJ

September 7, 2011, Mobile crane collapse at the national cathedral site in Washington, DC

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February 5, 2016 Crane Collapse in Manhattan

Crane Collapse at 40 Worth Street, New York, NY

February 5, 2016 Crane Collapse in Manhattan

Crane Collapse at 40 Worth Street, New York, NY

February 19, 2016 Crane Collapse in Ohio River near Prospect, KY

February 19, 2016 Crane Collapse in Ohio River near Prospect, KY

• The Manitowoc 4100W Ringer Series 3 crane was located on a 120´ × 100´ raft barge near the Kentucky shore of the Ohio River.

• At the time of the incident, the crane had a 280´ long boom and a 130´ long mast.

• The boom of the crane anchored on a barge collapsed.• The anemometer of the crane was broken.• The crane was used outside of the operating radius

parameters specified in the load chart• The crane was operating in wind speeds exceeding

recommended levels in the Operator’s Manual.

January 10, 2015, Mobile crane overturning in Brick Township, NJ

175-ton 1996 Grove, GMK 5160, mobile hydraulic boom crane overturned on the north-bound New Jersey Garden State Parkway.

January 10, 2015, Mobile crane overturning in Brick Township, NJ

• The crane had been in use for driving piles. The crane's boom malfunctioned and the boom was stuck in a nearly vertical position.

• At the time of the incident, the operator and technician were trying to fix the crane. Operator was slewing the crane with the boom vertical when the crane overturned.

More• The outriggers were not adequately

supported on the ground during the crane set up on the roadway shoulder. The contractor failed to follow the manufacturer’s instructions in setting up the crane.

• The overturning occurred due to the settlement and yielding of the ground under excessive pressure from the outriggers.

Investigation Reports Webpage• Selected Investigation reports are posted in the Public Website.

http://www.osha.gov/doc/engineering/EXengrptsr.html

• Helps Construction Industry, Academia and OSHA Enforcement to identify construction problems.

Accessed by Academia

ConstructionIndustry

OSHA Enforcement

Resources• OSHA Construction page: http://

www.osha.gov/doc/index.html

• National Safety Stand-Down page: http://www.osha.gov/StopFallsStandDown/index.html

• OSHA Rulemaking page: https://www.osha.gov/OSHA_FlowChart.pdf

Questions?