Masonry Magazine October 1994 Page. 11
Affirmative
Defenses for
OSHA Citations
Under current OSHA procedures, construction employers should expect that any jobsite visit will be broadened to a comprehensive inspection because their industry is viewed as a "high hazard" activity.
By PHILIP L. COLLERAN
OCCUPATIONAL Safety and Health Compliance Officers (CSHOs) are responsible for documenting all apparent violations they detect when conducting inspections in the workplace. Although the scope of their visits may at first be limited to investigations of a specific complaint or accident event, CSHOs aren't allowed to overlook or ignore hazards that come to their attention during inspections.
Under current OSHA procedures, construction employers should expect that any jobsite visit will be broadened to a comprehensive inspection because their industry is viewed as a "high hazard activity". For this reason alone, construction employers, large and small, face a significantly greater likelihood of being inspected and receiving "repeat" citations than those in general industry.
Consider three common defenses to citations and penalties that may result from such inspections:
* Isolated Employee Misconduct
* OSHA's Multi-employer citation policy, and
* Feasibility of abatement/impossibility of compliance
Isolated Employee Misconduct
Most injuries on construction worksites stem from unsafe acts or unsafe conditions. Unsafe acts are largely the result of inadequate training or enforcement; unsafe conditions very often are the result of an employer's failure to inspect and initiate prompt corrective action.
Such phrases as "carelessness" or "failure to use common sense" are shortsighted. They fail to identify the root causes of hazards. You cannot assume that employees are knowledgeable about even the most common safety hazards associated with your kind of work unless you:
* assure their competency through careful supervision and inspection early on;
* issue specific instructions that address the hazards of their work, and;
* reinforce your instructions through discipline and keep a record of it.
OSHA places the burden of safety training and enforcement on employers. Isolated employee misconduct cannot be raised when a supervisor