On March 21, Scott Austin, a 19-year-old carpenter working for TNT's Excavating Company was part of a crew working on a parapet wall on the roof of the five-story Studio One Apartment building being constructed on the Wayne State University campus in Detroit. The wind picked up and employees were gathering tools and materials to ensure they were secure and would not blow off the roof.

Equipment curbs (sheet metal collars) used as a base for installing heating/ventilation/air-conditioning (HVAC) equipment were on the roof and some were covering roof openings. When Austin picked up an unsecured equipment curb to move it, he fell through the opening it was covering more than 60 feet to his death.

"This tragic workplace fatality could have been avoided. Five contractors had the responsibility to correct the hazards which led to the death of this young worker," said DLEG Director Cooley. "We are sending a clear message to all construction employers that they must be proactive and consistently protect their workers against fall hazards."

A typical construction site involves many contractors and sub-contractors, and the Studio One construction project was no exception. On multi-employer sites, every employer has responsibility for the safety of all workers on the site, and more than one employer may be cited for the same condition.

The MIOSHA inspection determined there were five contractors at the site that had been working on or near the roof openings, were aware of the roof openings and that workers were exposed to the associated hazards. The contractors below were working at the WSU site at the time of the fatality:

• TNT's Excavating of Howell was working on the roof parapet wall.
  
• Houseman Construction Company of Grand Rapids was the general contractor at the site.
  
• Probuild of Delton LLC had a contract to perform carpentry work on the roof.
• Assemblers, Inc. of Pinckney did pre-cast concrete work around the roof openings.
  
• RJO Mechanical & Residential Plumbing of Portage was responsible for installing the HVAC equipment and the equipment curbs.

"It is not unusual for multiple contractors at a construction site to have their employees exposed to the same hazards. Each contractor at a site is responsible for ensuring that hazards are controlled or eliminated," said MIOSHA Director Doug Kalinowski. "Employers must exert all due diligence to identify hazards, whatever the cause, and take all necessary measures to protect their workers."

As a result of the accident investigation conducted by the MIOSHA Construction Safety and Health Division, five companies received citations for alleged safety violations with total proposed penalties of $40,350. A serious violation exists where there is a substantial probability that serious physical harm or death can result to an employee. The number of serious and other-than-serious (OTS) violations and proposed penalties are as follows.

MIOSHA concluded that the five contractors at the site all had responsibility for the roof opening hazards that resulted in the fatality. Every employer was cited for failure to secure the roof covers and for failure to identify the roof covers. Each of the contractors had a responsibility to implement the following requirements of MIOSHA Construction Standard, Part 45, Fall Protection:

• Cover or guard floor holes as soon as they are created during new construction.
  
• Survey the site before working and continually audit as work continues. Guard or cover any openings or holes immediately.
  
• Covers must be secured and color coded or marked with the words "HOLE" or "COVER."
  
• Construct all floor hole covers so they will effectively support two times the weight of employees, equipment, and materials that may be imposed on the cover at any one time.

Among the citations issued to TNT Excavating was a violation for inadequate fall protection training. At the time of his death, Austin had been on the job only three or four days and was a young, inexperienced worker. Young workers experience higher rates of work-related injuries than other workers according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). It's imperative that employers provide young workers with the information and skills to do the work safely.

In March 2008, MIOSHA initiated a proactive "Fall Protection" campaign to increase awareness of fall hazards in construction and general industry, to highlight the need for appropriate fall protection, and to help ensure that employees receive the training required by MIOSHA rules.

The MIOSHA Consultation Education and Training (CET) Division scheduled a series of workshops on fall awareness training across the state, which are posted on the CET Calendar on the MIOSHA website at www.michigan.gov/miosha. For more details on training opportunities, employers can contact the CET Division at 517.322.1809.

All MIOSHA standards are available on our website at www.michigan.gov/mioshastandards.
For more information on construction standards, companies can contact the Construction Safety and Health Division at 517.322.1856.

"This year in Michigan, we've already had five fatal accidents caused by falls," said Kalinowski. "The goal of the ‘Fall Protection' campaign is to alert employers that when fall hazards are present - they must provide the appropriate fall protection and training."

The companies have 15 working days from receipt of the citations to comply or contest the violations and penalties. (Following is a Summary of Violations for all five companies.)

* Release has been revised to indicate that this is a "Studio One construction project".

Read more Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Growth press releases.