OSHA Cites Saipan-based Company for Willful Scaffold, Fall Hazards

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.ohsonline.com/articles/58584/

February 15, 2008

Musung Corp., a construction company based in Garapan, on the west coast of Saipan, which is one of the Northern Mariana Islands and part of the United States Commonwealth, faces $59,400 in proposed penalties from OSHA for alleged safety violations at the Ace Plaza commercial building construction site in Garapan. The agency cited the company for an alleged willful violation following a planned inspection at the worksite on Aug. 27, 2007, and assessed a proposed penalty of $42,000 for failing to provide fall protection for employees working on scaffolds 15 feet above the ground.

OSHA cited the construction company seven times between 2001 and 2005 for violations of the fall protection standards. "Musung's safety history and the facts surrounding the current inspection indicate that the employer willfully violated fall protection regulations," said Teresa Harrison, OSHA's acting regional administrator in San Francisco. "These violations had the potential of resulting in the death or serious injury of one or more of the company's employees."

The agency also cited the company for four alleged serious violations and proposed a $4,200 penalty for failing to fully plank scaffold platforms to prevent falls; a $4,200 penalty for failure to provide fall protection training; a $4,200 penalty for failing to provide ladders extending three feet above the upper landing level; and a $4,200 penalty for permitting employees to use ladders while carrying objects or loads that could cause them to lose their balance and fall. Additionally, OSHA cited Musung with one other-than-serious violation, assessing a $600 proposed penalty, for failing to maintain required employee injury and illness records.