According to OSHA, falls are the leading cause of fatal workplace injuries. Image: maxim ibragimov/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffThe GSA is “not effectively identifying and resolving roof fall hazards in a timely manner” in federal buildings under its control and “is not consistently complying with requirements to guard against such hazards, an inspector general report has said.
“Taken together, these deficiencies increase the risk of fall-related injury or death” for employees of GSA, of tenant agencies and of operations and maintenance contractors when they “visit or work on the roofs of the more than 1,600 buildings that GSA owns.”
In a report following up on previous findings of roof safety deficiencies and a hotline complaint, the IG noted that according to OSHA, falls are the leading cause of fatal workplace injuries, and that more than a tenth of such falls involve falls from elevation. Both OSHA and GSA have standards to guard against falls, such as requirements for guardrails, for regular inspections, and for training of responsible officials.
However, the report said that GSA’s Public Buildings Service “is not providing adequate oversight of O&M contractors’ safety plans, lacks sufficient fall protection systems and protective equipment, and is not ensuring PBS facility managers receive safety training.”
“We also found that PBS risk management surveys are not effectively identifying and resolving roof fall hazards in a timely manner,” it said, with one result being preventing contractors from “maintaining critical building equipment” such as air supply fans. Also, the PBS did not conduct the roof fall protection assessments for roof replacement projects and did not always post appropriate signage at its buildings to warn of roof fall hazards, it said.
It said the GSA agreed with recommendations addressing those issues, adding that “We recognize the challenges that PBS faces in maintaining its aging building inventory and that it must prioritize project funding accordingly. Where PBS cannot make improvements to address fall protection deficiencies, it should implement interim controls to protect against fall hazards and monitor the performance of those controls to ensure they are operating effectively.”
The report is the latest in a series of warnings from the IG about safety hazards in federal buildings—in many cases related to deferred maintenance—ranging from air and water quality to fire risks and falling objects. One of those, from 2024 on a backlog of safety, health and fire risks, included falls from roofs as one of the safety hazards. The IG also called attention to roof fall hazards in 2020 reports on solar panels and on “green” roofs on federal buildings.
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