91视频

Rick Mccutcheon, president of The Wall, a Portland-based concrete contracting company, is proud that his firm follows safety regulations. That is why he鈥檚 frustrated that many others do not.

鈥淲e follow the rules and take care of our employees, and you just see companies out there not taking the proper precautions for their employees,鈥� he said. 鈥淣ot only are they harming themselves, but they are harming the public.鈥�

Mccutcheon is open to talking about others violating rules, except with the one agency that might be able to do something about it: the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division. He said he doesn鈥檛 know how to do so and it isn鈥檛 a high priority for him. Other local contractors 鈥� such as Steve Pietila, general manager of American Chimney and Masonry 鈥� know how to submit a complaint, but doubt that one would lead to enforcement.

Such attitudes are not unusual among local firms, and that concerns Oregon OSHA.

鈥淚f they are concerned, they should file a complaint and let us know about it because otherwise we鈥檙e not going to know,鈥� said Melanie Mesaros, Oregon OSHA public information officer. 鈥淥ur inspectors don鈥檛 just say, 鈥楬ey, I feel like going to this company today.鈥� We need to have a complaint.鈥�

Oregon OSHA鈥檚 rules are different than federal OSHA鈥檚. In some cases, such as rules pertaining to silica (a granite component that can become dangerous when airborne), Oregon OSHA鈥檚 rules are stricter than federal ones.

However, enforcing these rules can be difficult, Mesaros said. Violations on small projects are tough to catch because firms operate on jobsites for only a short period of time. And a number of other factors 鈥� such as the remoteness of a jobsite or the fullness of an OSHA officer鈥檚 schedule 鈥� can further complicate the process.

In addition to investigating complaints, OSHA conducts inspections. Also, in certain instances, an inspector who passes by a jobsite and spots an infraction can then stop and check it out.

But the chances of a violator being caught are higher if a complaint is submitted promptly after the infraction occurs, Mesaros said. This can be done anonymously through either Oregon OSHA鈥檚 website or over the phone.

OSHA has tried to educate contractors on how to submit a complaint, Mesaros said. But those efforts haven鈥檛 reached Mccutcheon, who said that some of the firms he鈥檚 working with on a current project are breaking permissible exposure rules.

鈥淥SHA has never approached me and said, 鈥楬ey, this is what you do,鈥� 鈥� he said. 鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 even know who to call or if I could do it online 鈥� maybe what they ought to do is get a pipeline out to the contractors and say this is how you report an incident.鈥�

Others are skeptical that complaints would even lead to enforcement.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 necessarily going to change anything,鈥� Pietila said. 鈥淭hese are small jobs 鈥� (contractors) can get in and out fairly quickly, and I just don鈥檛 see that it鈥檚 going to do much use.鈥�

Pietila remembers one specific instance when he noticed another contractor improperly using a scaffold. He considered informing OSHA, but believed the violator would be gone by the time an officer could respond.

鈥淭hey don鈥檛 have the resources to respond,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he enforcement side is hard within the industry.鈥�

Cliff Townsend, owner of a small masonry company, believes that OSHA focuses solely on large firms. In his 15 years of ownership, Townsend has never interacted with OSHA, he said, even when he noticed other firms breaking rules.

鈥淚f it鈥檚 a small company, unless it鈥檚 something that an OSHA representative drives by and sees something wrong, they never inspect anybody,鈥� he said. 鈥淥SHA is only worried about the big companies that pay the majority of their bill.鈥�

Mesaros said OSHA does not have a bias toward larger firms. All contractors, regardless of their firm鈥檚 size, should submit a complaint when they notice something wrong, she said.

鈥淚f they鈥檙e seeing it in front of them and they can report it right then, that鈥檚 the best thing to do,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 best if we see the work going on in front of our eyes when we get there.鈥�

Complaints can be filed with OSHA . Or, complaints can be submitted at the enforcement number 503-378-3272 or 1-800-922-2689.