Canby contractor facing more penalties from Oregon OSHA

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A general contractor that last year was cited for violations of jobsite safety regulations is again facing steep fines after a series of recent inspections showed that the company, according to the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division, has continued to endanger workers.

Oregon OSHA levied fines totaling $234,850 against Colima Construction for infractions observed during regulatory enforcement actions at job sites in Tigard, Aumsville and Bend. The Canby-based firm performs framing and drywall work on mostly residential projects and maintains a staff of around 500 workers, including 180 full-time employees.

Colima Construction previously was issued citations in September 2019 after state inspectors on two separate occasions observed employees performing roofing and framing work at a housing development in Eugene without fall protection systems in place. Those citations resulted in fines totaling $121,200.

The most recent penalties stem from Colima Construction’s “apparent inability to follow safety standards,” according to an Oregon OSHA media release. The agency exercised its discretionary authority to steeply increase the fines because the violations were repeated.

“It is inexcusable to ignore practical safety standards that have, time and again, proven effective at protecting workers from on-the-job hazards,” Oregon OSHA administrator Michael Wood stated. “Yet this employer continues to disregard the need to effectively address those rules, sidestepping its responsibilities and putting lives at needless risk.”

A citation was issued March 20 after an inspection at a multistory building site in Tigard found that a Colima Construction worker’s fall arrest system was not rigged correctly to prevent a fall of more than six feet.

On April 15, the company was cited for failing to provide fall protection for at least one worker on a house under construction in Aumsville.

On April 29, five violations were found during an inspection of the company’s work framing exterior walls on the second floor of a residential structure in Bend. In regard to an improper guardrail system, the inspection identified: failure to ensure employees walking below a second-floor crew wore hard hats, exposure of employees to falls without arrest systems or other protection measures, and exposure of employees to tripping or stepping into a hole and falling due to an unprotected stairwell.

Oregon OSHA proposed penalties of $24,500 for the March 20 violation and $122,500 for the April 15 violation (both repeat offenses), and $87,850 for the April 29 violations (two repeat offenses).

Colima Construction’s attorney is reviewing OSHA’s claims against the firm and appealing the citations that led to the fines from both this year and September 2019, administrative assistant Manuel Pelayo said. The contractor has also hired both a new safety supervisor and a consultancy firm, Mosaico Safety, which was founded by a former OSHA inspector and specializes in bilingual safety training.

At the recommendation of its attorney, Pelayo said, Colima Construction will retrain every one of its workers on safety protocols for fall protection, use of ladders and jobsite dangers. Most of its crew are longtime employees, but all will be trained as if they are new hires.

“We are doing random inspections in every place that we have people working, and focusing on framers because most of our employees are working inside houses on drywall,” said Pelayo, speaking on behalf of owner Angel Jimenez and translating for him. “Just a few crews are working on framing, and that’s the main focus from OSHA because they can see them from far away.”

During Colima Construction’s self-inspections, Pelayo said, workers who are found not following the company’s new safety standards will be disciplined with a warning for the first offense, a one-day suspension for the second, and termination for the third.

“We are doing our best to comply with all of the OSHA rules,” he said. “It will be improving. We are doing our best to keep our guys safe.”