PHP Roofing Blog

If you have never received an OSHA fine, you may not realize what a nerve-wracking problem it can be to face. If money is no object, you may decide to simply pay the fine and move on with your business. However, how many business owners can honestly say that money is no object? In many cases, it may make since to contest the fine and see about resolving the citation. We’ve gathered a bit of information about this process so you can decide if it is the right step for you to take.

So autumn has rolled in, bringing with it the cool mists and glowing leaves we associate with this time of year. Drizzling rains and some early frost bring with them dangers, though, which is why it’s a great time to discuss fall protection. No, not protection for this chilly season; we’re talking protection against falling from heights, the leading cause of deaths on construction jobs.

For the first time in 25 years, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has increased the fine amount for employers who are in violation of safety regulations – and it has increased these fines for maximum penalties by a whopping 78 percent.

In May of this year, Roofing Magazine published, and hosted on their site, an “On My Mind” piece from our director of Sales, Marion McKnight. The article was intended to help bring to light potential risks associated with skylights so that building owners, asset management professionals, and anyone else involved in the purchasing decision for such a product could make a more informed decision. Unfortunately, there were some who did not appreciate our commentary and felt it was an attack on the use of skylights in general. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Besides my involvement with PHP Systems/Design, I am also the owner of a skylight manufacturing company, VTech Skylights, so, naturally, I would not encourage something to be written that would discourage the use of skylights.

Hurricane season on the Atlantic and Gulf coast runs from June 1^st through November 30^th each year. The peak of the season tends to be in August and September. What this means for building owners, operators, and maintenance professionals is that it's time to put in a bit of work with regards to building, roof, and equipment supports to make certain commercial buildings are prepared for the potential storms ahead. While every structure will have different steps that must be taken to protect it, we’ve put together a few points you may want to consider as you prepare for potential inclement weather.

Complying with OSHA regulations isn’t always easy – or cheap. But neither are OSHA citations and their accompanying costs. In fact, with the passage of the 2015 budget, fines for violating OSHA regulations are going up for the first time in 25 years. The new budget allows for increases of up to 150% of current fines. However, the details still have to be hammered out.

Sometime this spring, OSHA is expected to release new rules regulating workers’ exposure to silica dust. These rules are expected to include two sets of standards, one for general and maritime industries, and one for the construction industry – and they could have a huge impact on your roof safety and standard procedures. Here’s what you need to know: 

Everyone in the construction and/or facilities management industry is familiar with the need to comply with OSHA for worker protection and roof safety. But what a lot of employers don’t realize is that OSHA regulations have limitations – and that some states have passed laws that go above and beyond what the federal program requires.

Rooftops are dangerous places and various organizations have done their part to raise awareness and eliminate preventable deaths, and OSHA is no exception. In fact, there are over one thousand OSHA regulations addressing fall safety. That’s more than anyone can keep track of, and even OSHA knows that. That’s the motivation behind the agency’s fall prevention campaign: Not giving companies permission to ignore or violate regulations, but boiling it all down to easy-to-understand, easy-to-implement, common sense guidelines on rooftop safety. 

It goes without saying that working in commercial roofing is a risky occupation, but do you really know how risky? The actual numbers may surprise you. Of the top 10 riskiest jobs, roofing comes in at number six. Workers in the roofing industry are three times more likely to have a fatal injury than workers in other industries, and about 50 roofers are killed on the job each year.