When you go to work, you expect to come home without injuries. However, many jobs have high risks that increase the probability of accidents and death. Construction workers, in particular, face many different hazards. If you are thinking about starting your own contracting company, you need to learn about OSHA and common construction risks.
What Is OSHA?The Occupational Safety and Health Administration or OSHA has many guidelines employers must follow to keep employees safe at work. Technically, nearly every business should follow OSHA regulations, but a few areas are excluded, including self-employed individuals, farms that only hire immediate family members, and certain employees who face special risks, like miners.
Therefore, unless you don't have anyone working for you because you are self-employed or you do contracting and construction on a family farm, you need to follow OSHA regulations and guidelines.
What Risks Do Contractors Face?
Everyone faces potential risks at work, but contractors often have a higher risk of injury or accident because they use so much heavy equipment and dangerous chemicals. In addition, many construction workers have to use scaffolding and ladders, which increases the risk of a fall.
Another common risk to construction workers is trench collapse. A trench needs a protection or support system. If it doesn't, it can collapse into itself, and if anyone is inside the trench at the time, they could experience severe injury or death.
Many contractors have to use big equipment like cranes. If the person using them is not properly trained, this can lead to severe problems, such as the crane collapsing. Plus, if the crane is carrying anything at the time, heavy metal beams or big pieces of concrete could land on people.
Workers at construction sites also face electrical risks. If employees aren't experienced enough, they may try to work on or near electrical circuits without turning off the power.
Finally, contractors may have to deal with toxic chemicals for manufacturing and processing. These have to be properly stored and labeled with clear instructions on how to handle the chemicals. Of course, that shouldn't stop you from ensuring all employees accessing the chemicals have adequate training and safety equipment.
What Happens if You Violate OSHA Regulations?
When you violate OSHA
regulations
for the first time, you may have to pay up to $13,494 per violation, depending on the severity of the violation. As long as you fix the problem for good, you shouldn't face any more fines, but if you fail to fix the issue, you can get a citation for a repeated violation, which can cost up to $134,937 per violation.
Similarly, if the violation was willful, meaning you did it on purpose, you may also face a high penalty. On the other hand, if you fix the problem, but the problem returns in the future, you may be accused of failure to abate. This situation can also come with a penalty of up to $13,494 per violation.
In addition, you have to post the citation where the violation occurred. If you are unable to for some reason, you may be allowed to post it elsewhere, as long as it is someplace all employees can easily spot it. You cannot edit or cover the citation posting in any way.
OSHA guidelines are designed to keep everyone safe, and some jobs like construction workers, face unique hazards not found in office settings. If you would like to learn more about OSHA, or if you think you may be ready to start learning more about contracting to start your own business,
contact us
at Golden State Contractors School today.
