Standing firm

Sunday, Oct. 5, 2008 | 2:08 a.m.

Nevada safety regulators have been under fire in the string of deaths and injuries on Strip construction sites for rolling over on fines and violations.

As Alexandra Berzon has reported in the Las Vegas Sun, construction companies routinely got fines and violations reduced or dismissed if they challenged them. But since the Sun started investigating incidents on the Strip and the way regulators handled them, things have been changing. As Berzon reported Thursday, Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials have recently held fast.

In a finding against Marnell Corrao Associates, the contractor in charge of construction at the now-stalled Echelon, regulators said the speed of the work played a role in the death of worker Lyndal Bates. He fell from a scaffold after improperly tying off his safety harness.

The report linked the pace of construction, which has been a concern in the rash of accidents, to the accident. A foreman was rushing workers to finish tasks and telling them to do things that violate safety standards, the report said. Regulators found that the foreman didn’t have the appropriate training and the workers hadn’t been trained on fall prevention techniques.

Nevada OSHA fined Marnell Corrao $11,000 for one “regulatory” and four “serious” violations. The company tried to persuade officials to change the finding, but regulators refused. This is the third consecutive case in which Nevada OSHA officials have denied requests to change the fines.

It is good that Nevada OSHA officials pointed out how the pace of construction contributed to the incident. That seems to be something that has been overlooked in the past, yet it has obviously been a contributing factor.

The Strip is undergoing a $32 billion building boom, and with that much money involved there is obviously an urgency to finish. There were 12 deaths in 19 months.

State regulators have a responsibility to ensure worker safety, and we hope they continue to stand firm against contractors who violate the rules. Nevada OSHA should make it clear that safety measures cannot be compromised by the pace of construction.