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$30M Windsor Center mixed-use TOD project launched
Town and state officials on Wednesday celebrated the launch
of the Windsor Center Plaza project, a new transit-oriented, mixed-use
residential development in the heart of downtown Windsor.
Gregory Vaca, of Grava Properties, ceremoniously broke
ground along with Gov. Ned Lamont and other state and local officials on the
$30 million Founders Square project that will bring 106 apartments and 12,000
square feet of new retail space to the center of Windsor near the train
station.
Phase one calls for 40 apartments in the three-story South
building, including 12 studios and 28 one-bedrooms; and 5,800 square feet of
new retail space divided into four or five storefronts, forming a new street
wall on Poquonock Avenue.
Phase one also includes the renovation of the existing North
building into a three-story apartment complex with 30 units and community
space. The existing 5,700 square feet of retail space in that existing building
will remain.
Phase two includes demolition of an existing one-story
building along Prospect Street and construction of a new three-story apartment
complex known as the West building, with 36 apartments, all a mix of studios
and one-bedrooms.
The project won a $3.2 million
Communities Challenge grant from the state Department of Economic and
Community Development, and a $250,000 town grant helped fund a TOD planning
study.
The grant and a credit enhancement agreement with the town
require 20% of the project’s apartments to be affordable, workforce housing, at
80% of the area median income.
The 10-year agreement calls for a 100% tax rebate the first
four years, decreasing incrementally each year.
DECD Executive Director of Community Development Matthew J.
Pugliese called this plan “the ideal
Communities Challenge project,” combining housing and commercial
space right in the heart of downtown, a stone’s throw from the train station,
creating not just a place to live, but a vibrant, livable community.
Windsor state Rep. Douglas McCrory praised Vaca for not only
his vision of responsible development, but for listening to the residents of
Windsor and developing a project in line with their needs and wants.
Windsor Mayor Nuchette Black-Burke said this was a
long-sought after goal for redeveloping the town center, and a great example of
a public-private partnership, giving a nod to Windsor Federal bank for
financing the project, and the state General Assembly for supporting a land
conveyance for part of the project site.
Lamont praised Vaca’s vision for restoring the town center
to how many Connecticut communities used to look before housing was demolished
to build shopping plazas and parking lots.
The rail component along with the much-needed housing fits
into the bigger picture for Connecticut as the state “doubles down on rail
service,” Lamont said, providing more frequent rail service connecting towns to
each other and metro areas like Hartford and Boston, fueled by more housing.
New Waterbury Mayor Pernerewski says brownfield redevelopment, downtown revival key focus areas
Newly elected Waterbury Mayor Paul K. Pernerewski
Jr.’s economic development agenda holds strongly to the priorities and
tactics of his predecessor.
Pernerewski, 62, plans a continued focus on cleaning and
repurposing long-abandoned and polluted factories that dot his post-industrial
city. He also plans to maintain efforts to revive the long-struggling downtown.
As president of the city’s Board of Aldermen for the past 14
years, Pernerewski was a key figure in approving initiatives brought to the
board by former Mayor Neil O’Leary.
“For 12 years I’ve supported almost all of what he’s done,
and I think he’s had the right vision for the city, and I think it makes sense
to continue on that path,” said Pernerewski, a Georgetown Law School graduate
who was formerly an assistant attorney general for the state of Connecticut,
followed by general counsel for the Connecticut Airport Authority.
O’Leary opted not to run for reelection this year and
endorsed Pernerewski, a fellow Democrat and close ally.
Betting on brownfields
O’Leary stood out from his predecessors by embracing a
policy of buying polluted and abandoned industrial sites, then securing
millions of dollars from state and federal sources for cleanup and
redevelopment.
Pernerewski said he wants to see through ongoing
redevelopment of the 17.4-acre Anamet manufacturing campus in the city’s south
end, and the 20-acre former Anaconda American Brass site along Freight Street
in the city center, as well as other properties.
“I think we are going to continue moving on those as best as
we can,” Pernerewski said. “At this point, the city has developed the
expertise. It seems there’s no reason not to continue doing that.”
Apart from the massive costs associated with remediation of
pollution and worn-out buildings, the Anamet and Anaconda factories occupied
otherwise prime industrial real estate, serviced by public utilities and
located near easy highway access.
Brownfields represent some of the last large tracts of
developable land in the city.
The city is working to demolish the last remaining building
on the Anaconda site, and has demolished all but two buildings at Anamet. Under
O’Leary, the city bonded $2.7 million to repair the roof of a roughly
190,000-square-foot, high-bay industrial building at the Anamet site along
South Main Street.
The hope is to find a new user.
“Those sites and those factories are what drove Waterbury to
be an industrial powerhouse 100 years ago, really right through the 1970s,”
Pernerewski said. “While they’re never going to be the industrial powerhouse
the way they were while the brass mills were here, I do think they could be
huge economic drivers.”
Doubling down on downtown
In recent years, the city spent tens of millions on downtown
revitalization, with the bulk of money coming from state bonding and
assistance.
Those funds were used to refurbish the downtown Green,
rebuild downtown streetscapes, remove blight and subsidize large-scale, private
redevelopments of prominent buildings.
For example, the state paid more than $7.7 million to defray
costs of renovating the 114,000-square-foot former Howland Hughes Department
Store into office space, which was leased to Post University for use by support
staff.
Former Gov. Dannel P. Malloy set aside $10 million to
similarly entice a developer to redevelop the 40,000-square-foot Odd Fellows
office building, at 36 North Main St., which has long sat empty and
deteriorating on the eastern edge of the downtown Green.
Despite all the work that’s been done, Waterbury’s city
center still has challenges.
The hundreds of employees Post University brought to the
refurbished Howland Hughes building in 2018 went remote with the onset of the
COVID-19 pandemic. Few have returned, Pernerewski acknowledged.
The head count at Webster Banks’ former headquarters on Bank
Street has also shrunk dramatically, he noted. The former Waterbury-based bank
in 2022 moved its main office to Stamford, following its merger with New York’s
Sterling National Bank.
Still, there are positive signs.
A family of investors from Long Island headed by patriarch
Ioannis Mariolis has purchased a string of downtown Waterbury buildings over
the past two years, with most properties slated to be redeveloped into
market-rate apartments, some with first-floor retail.
Local investors Michael Batista and Alexander
Alicki also purchased several downtown buildings with plans for
residential conversions.
Pernerewski said he plans to continue to encourage
market-rate housing development downtown as an economic driver.
“You’ve built this foundation, and now you are seeing these
people who are willing to invest and put in the kind of units that are going to
make a difference,” Pernerewski said. “The market-rate housing is going to be a
key element, it will bring people downtown who have money to spend. That’s
what’s going to drive the restaurants and the retail shops.”
Beyond downtown
Pernerewski said he believes there must be greater focus on
the city’s north end, particularly with programs to help refurbish
deteriorating housing stock.
Pernerewski said he is open to tax incentives for
development initiatives. He also plans to pursue improvements to the city’s
public schools and public safety as a means of making Waterbury more
attractive.
Pernerewski said he will also continue the rebranding and
marketing effort O’Leary started. The city in 2020 hired the Worx Group, a
Prospect-based marketing firm, to carry out a three-year, $654,720 marketing
campaign, according to the Republican-American newspaper.
“I think that’s the kind of thing that gets people out
there,” Pernerewski said. “There’s a story to be told, and I think they do a
good job with telling that.”
1,000+ apartments to open in Stamford: Check out these housing developments to watch in 2024
STAMFORD — Despite high interest rates and fierce political opposition in 2023, multifamily
housing development in Stamford will keep chugging along next year.
In Stamford's more densely populated neighborhoods around
downtown, multiple new apartment complexes are expected to open next summer.
Several of the projects will also house new retail businesses too.
Most of the new apartment buildings are being marketed as
luxury developments — though they will include around 100 total affordable
units thanks to the city's Below Market Rate program. Meanwhile, the city's housing
authority, Charter Oak Communities, continues to renovate its existing
subsidized housing.
Here are six residential developments to keep an eye on in
2024.
The Asher, Downtown
The 30-acre downtown block binding Atlantic Street, Broad
Street, Greyrock Place and Tresser Boulevard will look very different
in a few years, thanks to hundreds of new apartment units approved by the Zoning Board in
recent years.
The first of those projects, The Asher, at 150 Broad St., will open up "a certain
number of floors" to tenants at the start of the year, developer
Randy Salvatore said.
"It's gonna create great life in the area. What's
interesting is the entertainment, ... I would consider Bedford Street the
entertainment center of the city," Salvatore said. "You have all the
restaurants and the bars there and it's a very pedestrian-friendly city between
there and Atlantic Street. It's just there wasn't as much housing right
adjacent to it."
In total, the building will have 228 apartments — a mix of
studio, one- and two-bedroom units. The brick building with large glass windows
also boasts some impressive amenities, including a game room, a golf simulator
and co-working spaces. About 35 units had been rented as of early
December, Salvatore said.
According to the website, rents start around $2,400 for a
studio with one bathroom, up to about $3,850 for a two-bedroom, two-bathroom
apartment.
"Once we open up, we can go out and fully market
it," Salvatore said.
The Lafayette, East Side
Wellbuilt Company, a Greenwich-based developer, has
been growing its presence in Stamford the past few years.
The firm has high hopes for its latest project, a 130-unit apartment
complex on the East Side.
The Lafayette could open to tenants "towards the end of
the summer," Wellbuilt co-founder Mitch Kidd said.
He highlighted the green space around the building,
including vegetative walls along Lafayette Street, rooftop gardens and more.
Wellbuilt leadership is also exploring plans to develop two major public amenities connected
to the development: an urban park below the Interstate 95 underpass, as well as
a green path for bikers and walkers to the Stamford Transportation Center.
"We still believe that installation could be something
in the future," Kidd said.
Kidd did not respond to a question about estimated rents in
The Lafayette, which will have studios, one- and two-bedroom apartments.
The One Atlantic, Downtown
In September, the Zoning Board approved plans to transform
the old Stamford Savings Bank building — next to Veterans Memorial
Park — into a boutique hotel, a project years in the making.
The conversion of another long-vacant, historic bank is also
coming to fruition next year.
The One Atlantic, which will feature 77 luxury apartments
with shops on the lower floors, will start leasing May 1, according to its
website. As of 2022, the retail tenants were going to be Empire Bagels and Rumble Boxing.
Stone Harbour Capital, the firm behind the project, did not
return requests for comment.
According to the website, rents will start at $2,000 for a
studio, up to around $3,500 to $4,000 for a two-bedroom unit.
Completed in 1930, the building was originally the home of
First Stamford National Bank & Trust, a company which would eventually fold
into Bank of America. For decades, the building was the city's tallest. It has
sometimes been called the Fleet Bank building for the bank whose offices it
once housed, and because the bank often advertised using a rooftop sign.
The Signet at 18 Dock Street, South End
Commuters using I-95 and the train station have probably
seen the largest development opening in 2024 inching upward
recently.
The Signet at 18 Dock Street, a 395-unit apartment building,
is expected to open during the summer, said Adam Popper, spokesperson for
property owner First National Joint Venture LLC.
Popper declined to name the company owners, who he described
as a private family who have been "longtime residents of west Fairfield
County" and "involved in real estate for many generations."
State business records link the company to The Old Colony Company and Heyman
Properties.
Located two blocks from the Stamford Transportation Center,
the luxury development will have tons of amenities, like sports simulators,
co-working spaces, a home theater, a makers' room, a library, a test kitchen,
an outdoor pool, a jacuzzi and spa, gardens, a wellness center and
more. It will also have 7,500 square feet of retail space, as well as open
space across the street, where Popper said the property owners are
considering setting up a farmer's market or food trucks at some point.
Popper said the owner will not estimate rent prices until
they are closer to opening up the building.
"We're trying to be careful to be humble, but we
basically have surveyed the market, and we're trying to deliver the highest
quality luxury rental in the market," Popper said.
777 Summer St., Downtown
Another set of new market-rate apartments opening next year
takes up a major chunk of the Summer Street block between North and Spring
streets.
777 Summer St., which will include 355 apartments, is
expected to begin leasing in the spring and open to occupants in the summer,
according to a statement from Bryan Oos, northeast regional director for
developer Toll Brothers Apartment Living.
Oos's statement highlighted amenities such as a fitness
center, a pool, a co-working space, a pet wash and property-wide WiFi.
Andrea Meck, the company's public relations director, did
not respond to an email asking about estimated rent prices.
Charter Oak conversions, East Side and West Side
Charter Oak Communities, the city's housing authority, will
conduct maintenance and repairs on four properties being converted from public
housing to Section 8 properties next year.
The properties include Ursula Park Townhouses, Lawn Avenue
Townhouses and Sheridan Mews on the East Side, as well as Connecticut Avenue
apartments on the West Side. In total, 72 units are being converted, said Jon
Gottlieb, who heads Charter Oak's development work.
The conversions are known as Rental Assistance
Demonstrations, or RAD. The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development
recommends the projects as a way for local agencies to leverage public housing
debt, which officials estimate at around $35 billion nationwide.
"It really benefits the residents," Gottlieb said.
"Their rent continues to be calculated in the same way, so nobody
experiences a rent increase as a result, but the amount of subsidy to the
housing authority increases so that you can fund more maintenance and
repairs."
Using the funds, the repairs should begin in early 2024 and
wrap up by the end of the year.
"The only caveat would be if there is a government
shutdown; it's possible that the closing of those conversions could be
delayed," Gottlieb said.
Charter Oak has mostly been sprucing up its existing affordable housing, such as the major renovation
of Oak Park on the East Side. Gottlieb said the organization would like to
build more affordable housing, but it's difficult to wrestle property away from
market-rate developers.
"In Stamford, property is scarce and very, very
expensive. It's a lot of competition from the market-rate developments when
there's a piece of land available," Gottlieb said. "In terms of
developing additional new units, the biggest factor would be property
acquisition, (having) additional financial resources to acquire property ...
that would probably be the biggest present we could get that would make a
difference there."
NY developer considers new 42-unit apartment complex along Manchester's Tolland Turnpike
MANCHESTER — New
York developer Vessel Technologies is eyeing a site along Tolland
Turnpike in town for a new 42-unit apartment complex.
Though the company is locally known in part for its role
in controversial affordable housing proposals in both Simsbury and Granby,
Vessel executive Vice President Joshua Levy said the three-story building would
target the "missing middle" of the housing market — those who make
too much to qualify for subsidized housing but too little to afford
"luxury" options.
Vessel officials discussed the proposal with the town's
Planning and Zoning Commission at a meeting on Dec. 4, though they have yet to
file any applications. The project would require a zone change to allow higher
unit density and increased unit size for multifamily residential developments
within the Planned Residential Development Zone.
A preliminary site plan for the project at 472 and 486
Tolland Turnpike shows the 10,302-square-foot building, featuring 40
one-bedroom units at 573 square feet of living area each and two, two-bedroom
units with 1,061 square feet of space. The concept also includes 55 parking
spaces and roughly 22,000 square feet of recreational space.
Levy said Vessel was founded to help expand housing options
and opportunities to make a more equitable and affordable market.
"The cost of creating multifamily housing, together
with the goals of typical multifamily development, resulted in high-quality
housing really being reserved for the wealthy," Levy said.
Levy said the company hopes to make housing more
sustainable, for both the economy and the environment.
"Basically, 62 percent of people in this country can't
afford their homes," Levy said. "That's obviously not a sustainable
system for housing as a whole."
Levy clarified that the proposed apartments would not be
subsidized "affordable" housing, as defined by Connecticut law, but
priced to be "attainable" for a broader range of households.
Vessel would try to achieve "net-zero" emissions
on the completed building using solar panels and efficient all-electric heating
and cooling, Levy said, and in turn pass savings onto residents. He said
Vessel's building techniques would lead to faster completion with an estimated
eight-month construction period, allowing the company to meet housing demands
faster.
The Planning and Zoning Commission did not make any decision
on the project at the meeting, but some members discussed possible issues that
could arise if and when Vessel moves forward with an application.
PZC member Michael Stebe said he likes the idea of the
project but has reservations on the location, due to the inaccessibility of
public transportation in the area. He said the project would be an easier sell
if it were on a road with a better bus route.
"The idea is a good idea, but you're looking at 40
individuals, every single one of them having a car," Stebe said, adding
that Tolland Turnpike is already a busy road. "We know what the traffic
looks like, it's not always nice."
PZC alternate member Bonnie Potocki echoed Stebe's concerns
with location.
"This is not the best site for transit-oriented
development ... if you wanted to look at walkability, there would be some
concerns," Potocki said.
PZC member Patrick Kennedy said he did not have concerns
with the project or its location, but that he would generally be cautious about
changes to the Planned Residential Development Zone.
"I'm not that concerned about the project itself, at
least preliminarily," Kennedy said. "It's only a question of how you
get to it."
PZC Chairman Eric Prause said the proposed regulation
changes would likely draw a significant amount of public comment.
"I don't think you're going to get quiet public
hearings on this," Prause said.
OSHA cites concrete subcontractor in Lafayette Street partial building collapse in New Haven
NEW HAVEN — The federal Occupational Safety and Health
Administration has fined an Orange-based concrete subcontractor more than
$185,000 due to a June
2 partial building collapse on Lafayette Street
OSHA issued the fines on Nov. 27 amid an ongoing
investigation of the collapse of what is slated
to become a seven-story building with 112 residential units at 188
Lafayette St.
Eight of 36 people at the construction site were injured
when the second floor of the building collapsed into the first floor and the
basement. Three people were rescued from the rubble before the concrete
hardened.
A U.S. Department of Labor spokesman said in an email
Thursday that the OSHA investigation is complete. However, it is still
considered an open investigation to provide the company time to respond.
The report
lists seven violations carrying a total of $185,633 in fines. The website
notes that violations may be added or deleted.
The principal of Seven Concrete, LLC, the nonunion
subcontractor under OSHA investigation, could not be immediately reached
for comment Thursday.
The heftiest citation carries a fine of $120,319. It lists a
"willful" violation of the standard that formwork must be
"capable of supporting without failure all vertical and lateral loads that
may reasonably be anticipated to be applied to the formwork."
"On or about June 2, 2023, the employer did not ensure
the formwork supports were designed, erected, and capable of supporting
the loads applied to the formwork, resulting in the collapse of the formwork
and supports. Eight employees performing tasks such as (but not limited to)
concrete work about three levels of shoring and re-shoring required rescue and
five were hospitalized following the collapse," the citation reads.
Four of the listed citations carry individual fines of
$12,031 and cite failing to include ramp area drawings on-site for workers, not
having a structural design engineer inspect shoring elements and failing to
conduct an inspection before the pouring of concrete. Two further citations for
$8,595 charge the employer with providing guardrails that provided insufficient
fall protection.
In June, New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker promised a
"significant investigation" by the city. New Haven Police Chief Karl
Jacobson said he had "nothing to report" on any investigations in an
emailed comment Thursday.
Construction on the project resumed in October.
OSHA Violations On Rise This Year, Fall Protection Tops List
LUCY PERRY
For 13 years running now, fall protection has hamstrung
contractors and their safety directors. During that time, it has become OSHA's
most frequently cited infraction. It remains the most cited this year.
During the National Safety Council's (NSC) Safety Congress
and Expo held this fall, OSHA's Eric Harbin gave preliminary stats on the top
10 most cited standards.
For the second year in a row, the agency's Hazard
Communication standard came in at number two.
"Incredible" advancements are made in safety each
year, said Lorraine Martin, NSC president and CEO. But "we continue to see
many of the same types of violations appear on OSHA's Top 10 list," she
added.
Mitigating the Risk
OSHA put a major emphasis on its fall hazards program this
year as a way to help mitigate the safety risks to both workers and employers.
The national emphasis program (NEP) has no expiration date,
said employment attorneys of Ogletree Deakins.
According to the NSC, 136 workers died and nearly 128,000
were injured in same-level falls.
Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that of the 5,190
fatal workplace injuries in 2021, 680 were associated with falls from
elevations. That equates to approximately 13 percent of all deaths, reported
Ogletree Deakins, noting that the NEP should come as no surprise to
contractors.
"Particularly those in the construction industry,"
said John D. Surma, a Houston, Texas, shareholder, and Jaslyn Johnson, an
associate, Atlanta, Ga.
"BLS data shows that ‘fatalities caused by falls
continue to be a leading cause of death for all workers.'"
The number of violations is more than double the next most
frequently cited standard, hazard communication.
The NEP combines enforcement through hazard-based inspection targeting and locally generated programmed targeting in construction. The goal is to significantly reduce or eliminate unprotected worker exposures to fall-related hazards that can result in serious injuries and deaths.
"Interestingly, locally generated programmed targeting
in construction under the NEP is optional," said Surma and Johnson.
"The NEP only encourages OSHA regional and area offices
to develop targeting methods that effectively reach industry sectors where fall
protection is often lacking. Ultimately, the NEP gives regional and area
offices considerable discretion in how much effort, if any, to devote to
programmed enforcement."
The two from Ogletree Deakins noted nearly 31 percent of
OSHA's inspections from 2014 through 2021 were related to falls.
"And from 2017 through the present, the most common
standard for which OSHA conducted inspections, issued citations and imposed
penalties, has been fall protection in residential construction."
The law firm said with inspections opened upon infraction
observation, employers could expect to see increased inspections related to
falls in 2023.
Statistics Pile Up
OSHA's fall protection standard guides contractors in where
fall protection is required, which systems are appropriate given the situation.
It also outlines proper construction and installation of safety systems and the
proper prevention supervision, according to Safety and Health Magazine.
S&H noted the standard is designed to protect employees
on walking-working surfaces with an unprotected side or edge above 6 ft.
There were more than 5,000 violations of the standard's
section related to residential construction at 6 ft. or more above lower
levels.
These workers are to be protected by guardrails, safety nets
or personal fall arrest systems "unless another provision … provides for
an alternative measure."
The section related to walking-working surfaces with an
unprotected edge at 6 ft. or higher saw 931 violations.
According to OSHA, workers in this situation also must be
protected by a guardrail, safety net or fall-arrest system.
OSHA's second most cited standard, that of hazard
communication, applies to chemical hazards, both those produced in the
workplace and those imported.
"It also governs the communication of those hazards to
workers," reported S&H, adding that this standard had 2,683 violations
in 2022.
The number one section related to written hazard
communication covering labels and other forms of writing had 1,136 violations.
Employers must develop, implement and maintain a written
program that at least describes how the criteria specified in this section for
labels, Safety Data Sheets (SDS) and employee information and training will be
met.
The next highest number of hazard communication violations
had to do with effective information and training on hazardous chemicals.
"Employers shall provide … effective information and
training on hazardous chemicals in their work area at the time of their initial
assignment."
The standard also requires employers to provide info and
training whenever a chemical hazard new to employees is introduced into their
work area.
"Information and training may be designed to cover
categories of hazards or specific chemicals," said OSHA.
"Chemical-specific information must always be available through labels and
SDS."
Maintaining workplace copies of SDS for each hazardous
chemical was the next highest number of logged infractions at 363.
This section requires employers to ensure these SDS
"are readily accessible during each work shift to workers in their work
areas."
Workplace labeling came up next with 315 infractions.
"The employer shall ensure each container of hazardous chemicals … is
labeled, tagged or marked."
Finally, OSHA requires chemical manufacturers and importers
to obtain or develop an SDS for each hazardous chemical they produce or import.
"Employers shall have a Safety Data Sheet in the
workplace for each hazardous chemical which they use." This infraction was
cited 252 times.
Violations to the OSHA standard applicable to powered industrial trucks was among the top 10. The agency logged 2,561 violations of this standard.
The rule covers the design, maintenance and operation of
powered industrial trucks, including forklifts and motorized hand trucks and
their operator training.
There were 606 violations to the section on safe operation;
336 on refresher training and evaluation; and 309 having to do with
certification.
"The employer shall certify that each operator has been
trained and evaluated as required by this paragraph (l)," stated OSHA.
The certification must include the name of the operator,
date of training, date of evaluation and identity of the person(s) performing
training or evaluation.
"Industrial trucks shall be examined before being
placed in service," according to the standard.
The machines "shall not be placed in service if the
examination shows any condition adversely affecting the safety of the
vehicle."
The agency requires that such an examination be made at
least daily. For round-the-clock usage, the trucks must be examined after each
shift.
"Defects when found shall be immediately reported and
corrected," according to OSHA, which logged 178 violations to this rule.
"If at any time a powered industrial truck is found to
be in need of repair, defective or in any way unsafe, the truck shall be taken
out of service," stated OSHA.
It is out of service, "until it has been restored to
safe operating condition." That violation was logged 173 times.
There were 2,554 violations to OSHA's lockout/tagout
standard this year. In 2022, violations numbered 2,175.
Minimum performance standards for the control of hazardous
energy during machine servicing and maintenance are outlined in this standard.
Energy control procedure saw 730 violations; training and
communication, 491 violations; and periodic inspection, 362.
The section related to establishment of a program for energy
control procedures, training and inspections had 265 infractions.
It is meant to ensure before any employee performs any
servicing or maintenance that the machine or equipment is isolated from the
energy source.
OSHA also logged infractions of eye and face protection
rules under personal protective and lifesaving equipment.
The agency noted that there were 2,074 violations in 2023,
compared with 1,582 last year. It came in ninth on the top 10 list.
The standard addresses "appropriate personal protective
equipment for workers exposed to eye and face hazards."
These hazards include flying particles and chemical gases or
vapors encountered on the job.
Most often cited was the section related to employer
assurance each worker uses appropriate eye or face protection with 2,034
violations.
Flying particles, molten metal, liquid chemicals, acids or caustic liquids, chemical gases or vapors or potentially injurious light radiation are listed.
The second most common infraction, with 32 citations,
regards side protection for the eyes when there is a hazard from flying
objects.
"Detachable side protectors (e.g., clip-on or slide-on
side shields) meeting the pertinent requirements of this section are
acceptable," stated OSHA.
The standard section on contractor compliance with consensus
standards was violated six times.
Finally, the use of prescription lenses, as prescribed, in
operations involving eye hazards was cited twice this year.
OSHA requires that the employer ensure each affected
employee who wears prescription lenses actually wears said eye protection. The
user must wear lenses or protection can be worn over lenses without disturbing
the position of the prescription or protective lenses.
Machine guarding infractions were logged by OSHA 1,644 times
this year. There were 1,488 violations in 2022.
This standard protects employees "from hazards,
including those created by point of operation, ingoing nip points, rotating
parts, flying chips and sparks."
Types of guarding, with 1,089 violations; point of operation
guarding, 402 violations; general requirements infractions, 60 and anchoring
fixed machinery, 57, were most cited.
So was the section related to barrels, containers and drums.
There were 13 infractions specifically related to revolving devices.
OSHA requires they "be guarded by an enclosure that is
interlocked with the drive mechanism, so that the [device] cannot revolve
unless the guard enclosure is in place.
In her comments about the top 10 violations in general,
Martin of the NSC called for unity in the safety community.
"We must come together to acknowledge these persistent
trends and identify solutions to better protect workers." CEG