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The increased popularity of two-story homes and the demise of the flat roof are two factors that increase the chances of injury or death by falling at construction sites in the Tucson area. KB Home has responded, cooperating with the state job-safety office.
A.E. araiza / Arizona Daily Star 2005
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Fined for falls
● In June alone, 15 companies working in Arizona were cited and fined $1,000 or more by the Industrial Commission of Arizona for exposing workers to fall hazards. Among them are two Tucson companies:
Capital Construction LLC, 3274 E. 26th St., was fined $80,000 after inspectors making a January follow-up inspection of a work site found the same hazards they had noted after a November inspection, according to the company's file at the Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health.
The company was roofing town houses at a construction site at 2021 W. 36th St., near South La Cholla Boulevard. In both instances, a complaint to the state's safety office led to citations for a dozen rule violations related to scaffolding, training and housekeeping.
The company is contesting all of the citations and fines, said Capital manager Steve Macholtz, adding that the problems noted by inspectors have been corrected.
● Progressive Roofing, 4222 W. Jeremy Place, was fined $15,000 for fall-protection violations after a a 25-year-old worker fell 30 feet through a hole in a hanger roof meant for a skylight on March 21 at 5280 E. Gafford Way, at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. The worker was treated for head injuries and fractures on his wrist and femur.
The company's safety director could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.
The worker told inspectors that he had complained about hazards before, but his complaints were not taken seriously. "When he complained of safety hazards, he was told to get to work or go home," an inspector's report said.

Business

Permanent roof anchors prevent workers' falls

Saving lives at home sites

By Becky Pallack
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 07.19.2006
A Tucson home builder has proposed a solution to the biggest safety problem in the construction industry — falling.
More construction workers die after falls than in any other type of accident — about 440 workers in 2004, according to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. In Tucson last year, a foreman fell to his death at a construction site.
Despite devastating accidents, production pressure continues to be a barrier to effective fall-protection programs for many companies, said Mark Norton, assistant director of the Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health. Workers striving to get more done in less time are likely to take shortcuts that can lead to accidents, he said.
"We are looking at fall hazards as an extremely serious issue," he said, because falls from almost any height can be fatal.
Under federal and state regulations, workers must be equipped with fall-protection devices such as harnesses, lines or nets when working above certain heights.
A couple of years ago, residential builder KB Home noticed its number of fall accidents rising, said Ron Borane, a safety specialist at the company. Higher demand for housing put pressure on trade workers to keep up, and new housing designs have steeper roof pitches, creating new hazards.
"We had to do something," he said.
In 2004, KB Home became the first residential contractor in Arizona to team up with the state's Division of Occupational Safety and Health on a safety program. Since then, the company has seen the number of lost workdays decrease and safety discipline improve, Borane said.
Now, the company is starting to place anchors on roof trusses before they are installed, providing a consistent, permanent point at which workers can tie their safety lines. The new system will be used on new Tucson homes in the next few weeks and eventually at all KB Home building sites nationwide, said Borane, who spearheaded the project.
KB Home is the first big builder to make permanent anchors a part of company safety policy, said Ed Marquardt, president of Guardian Fall Protection, the Kent, Wash., company selling the anchors to KB Home. The two companies have been working on the anchor plan since November.
The anchors, called the Guardian Truss Boss, were designed specifically for KB Home to meet safety requirements and to stand up to heat and design requirements. Because KB Home was worried about the anchors degrading in the sun, Guardian designed a cap made of a heat-resistant plastic and made it in colors to match KB Home roofs, Marquardt said.
"We want all builders to do this," Borane said.
A safety program is "more than a plan in a three-ring binder," he added. There will be bilingual training and strict enforcement of the new system, he said. The company also will have a certification process for workers who will install the anchors.
"Do what you have to, because there's nothing worse than a fatality in the workplace," Borane said.
"KB has taken a pretty strong stance on making sure they do not have that type of exposure," Marquardt said.
The company is offering free training to some of its subcontractors, Borane said.
The local safety division office also offers free fall protection training. The next class is scheduled for Aug. 9. For more information, call 628-5478.
● Contact reporter Becky Pallack at 573-4224 or at bpallack@azstarnet.com.
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