OSHA Taking Aim at West Virginia Construction Worksites

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is launching what it calls a “no-notice” campaign in West Virginia this summer in hopes of reducing construction injuries and deaths.

The “Construction Incident Prevention Initiative” will focus enforcement efforts on construction sites covered by OSHA’s Charleston office. That area includes the entire state.

During the campaign, OSHA will send all of its compliance officers into the field to conduct immediate, unannounced inspections when unsafe working conditions are observed.

According to OSHA, its Philadelphia region office had a total of 43 fatalities in fiscal years 2011 and 2012. The region includes West Virginia and Virginia, the District of Columbia and three other states. Eighteen of those 43 deaths involved falls.

The campaign runs through September.