CT Construction Digest Friday December 15, 2023

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

Michael Puffer

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

Jared Weber

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

Joseph Villanova,

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

Brian Zahn,

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