b'Mark StrommeBrentSmithDeeRaineyCory RohsRyan Gibson L it or not, roofing businesses are entering the new year with moreemployees, and as a safety person,really have to look at that. And that ikeyou reasons than ever to mind their regulatory Ps and Qs.canmoney." cost companies In fact, they have at least 7,000 of them-thedollar minimumMoney Talks amount that OSHA will be fining roofers (with greater frequency) whenAnd not just from fines, and not just for safety equipment. Businesses workers aren\'t using proper fall protection equipment. That requiredskittish about working with contractors with poor safety records areequipment includes guardrail systems, safety net systems, or personal fallbecoming increasingly hesitant to give them work. arrest equipment. "That is opening owners\' eyes," says Cory Rohs,of 3-E Safety OSHA regulation 1926-50l(b)(l3) statesowner Services, LLC, aCity, MO-area safety consulting finn. "They can\'t Kansas Each employee engagedresidential construction activities 6 infeetbid on abecause they have too many injuries as aand contractcompany, (1.8 m) or more above lower levels shall beby guardrail protectedthatwhat is really driving the safety side of things now. It\'s not regulais systems, safety netorfall arrestunless system,personalsystemtions. It\'s being told, \'No, you can\'tajcome bid onpro ect."\' another provision in(b)ofsectionfor an paragraphthisprovidesAnd even ifhad no new rules,and the alternativeprotection measure.OSHAinsurance premiums fallexperience modification ratings (EMRs) that govern them would be For atime, OSHA has provided an exception, howeverforcing roofers to enforce greater safety measures, says Rohs. long When the ernployer can demonstrate thatitinfeasible or creates aThe change in attitude has been gradual. Rohs says he has seen an isevolution in the industry\'s self-regulation over the past 12orso years: greater hazarduse these systems, the employerdevelop and toshall In 2000, there was alip service about safety: "Yeah, we do safety implementfallplan which meets the requirements oflot of aprotectionwhen it\'s convenient for us and we\'re forced to do it." 1926502. paragraph(k)ofAround 2005, people took safety amore seriously: "Hey, we really little Days of Grace Are Overneed to be doing this safety stuff or we\'re going to get fined by OSHA." That exception provided many years of grace for residential roofers.Asof In 2010 and 2011, general contractors took responsibility for safety .15, 2012 (a deadline extended from September 2011), those dayspromotion: "IfEMR or some other rating system is too high, Marchyour are gone, one safety consultant noted.project." you\'re not allowed to come bid on a And the benefits ofcompliance, painful as it might seem, also "It\'s afast rule now," says Mark Stromme, editor, workplacesafety hard, J.J.Keller and As.5ociates, asafetyextend to lower hospital bills, lower workman\'s compensation claims safety forNeenah-WI-based workplace and contributions, fewer lawsuits, lower insurance premiums,better publisher and consultancy. "And [roofers] are having trouble complyingand with it because aof times, when you\'re doing residential roofing, yourelationships with workers. lot can\'t really put up a guard rail. Athere aren\'t really places to"It\'s not all about profit for the company," says Chris Gentile, a lot of times, tie off. There\'s no anchor pointthe roofs."Detroit-area roofer and consultant who has 24 years in the industry. "It on also has to be for the employees -theyto feel that the owners and However, OSHA expects compliance anyway-perhaps with safety nets,have perhaps by other means. And according to several sources interviewed bythe company care about them, their safety, and their families." He believes in the new regulations butthat isn\'t the case for MR, the administration has more field agents than ever before working toknows enforce it.everyone. In fact, says Gentile, many guys with whom he has worked with recently openly ignore the rules and the use ofequipment because "Definitely-they\'ve hired more inspectors than, Ithey eversafety beheve, have," says Ryan Gibson, CSP, senior safety manager at Centi.Mark Cor of the time it takes away from billable work. poration, an industry heavyweight with about 2,500 employees across the"Sometimes you\'ll drive around the comer, and they\'ll take all the stuff off," Gentile says. "Theycare. Y look at them and say, \'You have famiUnited States and Canada. "OSHA\'s out there every day trying to protectdon\'tou lies; you all have kids.\' Itwo guys that,they\'re done roofing." knowfell and 8www.mrca.org- Midwest Roofer'