OSHA cites Swampscott company for scaffolding collapse ($6,000)

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.salemnews.com/punews/local_story_057065600.html

By Mike Stucka
Staff writer

SWAMPSCOTT — Federal inspectors cited a Swampscott construction company for five serious violations and charged it $6,000 in penalties last week because of an accident that sent three men tumbling to the ground after incorrectly installed scaffolding collapsed.

Swampscott police who rushed to the accident at 41 Buena Vista St. reported the scaffolding supports seemed to be attached only to a wallboard, not to the studs that provide structural support. Under their weight, the scaffolding punched through the side of the house, dropping Kevin Kuppim, 40, of Beverly; John Goslin, 32, of Gloucester; and Tim Shennett, 25, of Exeter, N.H., to the ground. The men were taken to hospitals after the Oct. 9 accident.

A.F. Construction Inc. of Swampscott has received the citations but has not begun informal settlement talks, said John Chavez, spokesman for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The agency ruled that scaffolding was designed and built by an unqualified person, wasn't inspected before being used each shift, and didn't have a full deck or guardrails. The company also didn't train its employees to avoid falling, OSHA said.

No phone numbers for A.F. Construction or owner Antonio Franco are listed in the phone book.

Chavez said OSHA has six months to complete its investigations.