OSHA increasing fall hazard enforcement in Southeast

Atlanta – Construction employers in the Southeast will begin seeing more unannounced inspections from OSHA as the agency focuses on fall hazards in the region. Falls are one of the leading causes of employee deaths in the Southeast.

Beginning Aug. 20, OSHA will identify and target for inspection worksites in Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi that may be exposing workers to fall hazards, the agency said in an Aug. 16 press release.

The increased enforcement effort is part of a larger national campaign OSHA announced earlier this year that aims to eliminate fatal falls in the construction industry. The campaign includes partnerships with trade associations and labor groups to educate employers and employees on fall prevention equipment and strategies.

“OSHA’s goal is to raise awareness about fall hazards and eliminate those conditions that lead to employee deaths,” OSHA regional administrator Cindy Coe said in the release. “Our compliance officers will conduct immediate inspections when they observe employees working from elevation without fall protection.”

Post a comment to this article

Safety+Health welcomes comments that promote respectful dialogue. Please stay on topic. Comments that contain personal attacks, profanity or abusive language – or those aggressively promoting products or services – will be removed. We reserve the right to determine which comments violate our comment policy. (Anonymous comments are welcome; merely skip the “name” field in the comment box. An email address is required but will not be included with your comment.)