Nevada OSHA Blames Construction Workers Death on Company's Rush To Finish Work.

[Jordan Barab]

Below is an article and accompanying editorial from the Las Vegas Sun about a rare OSHA citation blaming a worker's death on a company's rush to finish work. Pace of work is clearly a factor in workplace injuries and fatalities, but OSHA there are no OSHA standards regulating pace of work, nor do OSHA citations address the issue.

 

 

TOO FAST.

State OSHA report links Echelon death to speed of construction

By Alexandra Berzon Thu, Oct 2, 2008 (2 a.m.)

Nevada workplace safety regulators say a building contractor's poor safety practices and rush to finish work at Echelon on the Strip led to the death of a construction worker in June.

The findings by the Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration contained the most explicit connection to date between safety and speed in the midst of the $32 billion building boom on the Strip.

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/oct/02/too-fast/

 

SUN EDITORIAL:

Standing firm

Nevada OSHA should ensure worker safety requirements are met — no matter the pace

Sun, Oct 5, 2008 (2:08 a.m.)

Nevada safety regulators have been under fire in the string of deaths and injuries on Strip construction sites for rolling over on fines and violations.

As Alexandra Berzon has reported in the Las Vegas Sun, construction companies routinely got fines and violations reduced or dismissed if they challenged them. But since the Sun started investigating incidents on the Strip and the way regulators handled them, things have been changing. As Berzon reported Thursday, Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials have recently held fast.

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It is good that Nevada OSHA officials pointed out how the pace of construction contributed to the incident. That seems to be something that has been overlooked in the past, yet it has obviously been a contributing factor.

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/oct/05/standing-firm/

 

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Jordan Barab