Playing It Safe Is Playing It Smart: Why the Roofer You Hire Means More than You Think

By Anonymous -
With the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, Congress created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to ensure safe working conditions for working men and women (www.osha.gov).  Every state is either governed by OSHA or the state-sponsored equivalent.  The standards set and enforce safety regulations that govern all aspects of roofing construction including the proper use of fall protection and personal protective equipment.
Falls are one of the leading causes of death and injuries in the construction industry. Therefore, roofers must not only follow the current laws and regulations governing fall protection, but also stay abreast of the many changes that occur to OSHA regulations each year.  A roofer that does not follow OSHA regulations can attract unwanted attention to a job site through OSHA and other government agency inspections. These inspections delay job progress and can severely disrupt business operations.  More importantly, if a roofer falls and gets injured on a job site, the owner could be sued and face thousands in defense costs and increased insurance premiums. Whether it be a roofer injured due to some noncompliance with safety harness standards, or a passerby injured because a worker failed to properly secure his materials, the owner can, and will, always face litigation. A single lawsuit could cost owner thousands of dollars in defense costs and increased insurance premiums.
By Trent Cotney for National Roofing Partners
Trenton H. Cotney
Florida Bar Certified Construction Lawyer
Trent Cotney, P.A. 
407 N. Howard Avenue
Suite 100
Tampa, FL 33606

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Dotted Line: When Contractors Can Walk Off the Job

By -
When general contractors or subcontractors sign on to construction projects, they usually start off believing everything will run smoothly. But, during the course of the work, issues sometimes arise that force all parties to go running back to their contracts in order to evaluate their options. One of those options for construction companies is to simply stop work, but contractors need to take care when making such a big decision. “Stopping work and ultimately terminating the contract is one of the most radical things you can do,” said Joseph McManus Jr., attorney and shareholder at law firm Carlton Fields.   Luckily, most of the circumstances under which contractors are clearly entitled to stop work are included in the most popular standard forms of contracts. Nonpayment The most common reason that contractors find it necessary to stop work, McManus said, is that they haven’t been paid for approved invoices. In that scenario, he said, contractors have the ...
Read more

"Mass-timber" Sees Greater Use in Roofing and Construction Projects in Europe

By -
Image
The use of "mass-timber," or prefabricated engineered wood components is becoming more common in construction and roofing applications in Europe. In projects such as the galleria roof of a central city building in Surrey, it helps meet demand for wood structures to add visual appeal. From NRCA Trenton H. Cotney Florida Bar Certified Construction Lawyer Trent Cotney, P.A. 407 N. Howard Avenue Suite 100 Tampa, FL 33606 www.trentcotney.com
Read more