MODULE 14: Fall Protection

There is a hoisting area without guardrails.

Workers are working four feet above paving equipment.

Roofers are working on low-slope roofs with unprotected sides. With a safety monitoring system, a competent person is responsible for warning employees about fall hazards. A warning line system is a barrier placed on a roof to warn workers that they are near an unprotected side or edge of a roof. Both systems help ensure that employees are aware of fall hazards.

Workers may be hit by falling tools and materials. When falling objects might strike workers, the employer must have workers wear hardhats. The employer must barricade the area where objects could fall and prohibit entry into the barricaded area. Keep objects that may fall far enough away from the edge of a higher level so those objects will not go over the edge if they are accidentally bumped.

An eight-foot-deep hole is hidden by overgrown grasses. Each employee at the edge of an excavation 6 feet deep, or deeper, must be protected from falling by guardrail systems, fences, or barricades. Cover or guard an excavation that is not readily seen because of plant growth or other visual barriers.

200

8

6

42

19

400

200

42

30

400

6

6

Edge-work training If an employee is exposed to falling 6 feet (1.8 meters) or more from an unprotected side or edge, the employer must provide a guardrail system, safety net system, or personal fall arrest system to protect the worker.

13 For pipe railings, posts, top rails, and intermediate railings shall be at least one and one-half inches nominal diameter (schedule 40 pipe) with posts spaced not more than 8 feet (2.4 m) apart on centers. Counting the corners, Raul needs 13 posts.

New-hire orientation As the case study dramatizes, safety measures must be implemented in the order in which they will protect workers best, and training is always the first step in protecting workers.

An employee is installing a leading edge on a third-floor balcony cover. Each employee who is constructing a leading edge 6 feet (1.8 meters) or more above lower levels shall be protected by guardrail systems, safety net systems, or personal fall arrest systems.

400 Drop-tests must consist of a 400-pound bag of sand 28-32 inches in diameter being dropped into the net from the highest working or walking surface, but not from less than 42 inches above that level.

Yes The employer must designate a competent person to monitor the safety of other employees. The employer also has the duty to ensure that the safety monitor complies with the requirements.

No ou may be the go-to person for hazard questions because you're competent. Your main responsibility is to warn the workers when it appears that they are unaware of a fall hazard or acting in an unsafe manner.

Yes This is your main duty as a safety monitor. While the workers are working, you're watching their backs and making sure they don't get hurt.

Yes That's what you're there for: monitoring the safety of your co-workers. So you have to be able to see and identify the hazards and warn the workers about them.

Yes If you notice that a worker is unaware of a hazard or is doing something dangerous, you have to be able to tell him or her about it.

No As the safety monitor, you must not have other responsibilities that could take your attention away from your monitoring duties.

Falling tools and materials Employers are required to protect their employees from falling objects. One method to use (when necessary) is to install toeboards (at least 3.5 inches tall) along the edges of the overhead walkways and work surfaces.

Work on a roof with an unprotected edge A warning line system is a barrier erected on a roof to warn employees that they are approaching an unprotected roof side or edge.

Workers working on a 12-foot-high wall A positioning device system is a body harness system rigged to support an employee on an elevated vertical surface such as a wall. The system allows an employee to work with both hands free while leaning.

Overhand bricklaying 9 feet above the ground Set up a controlled access zone where overhand bricklaying or related work is taking place. Only permit qualified personnel involved in the overhand bricklaying or related work to enter the controlled access zone.

Workers on a roof with large holes Covers are used to protect personnel from falling through holes in walking surfaces.

Warning line system A warning line system must be flagged at not more than 6-foot intervals with high-visibility materials.

Personal fall arrest system Snaphooks are used to connect lanyards to D-rings on a body harness. Lanyards are flexible lines of rope, wire rope, or strap that generally have a connector at each end. They are used to connect a body harness to a deceleration device, lifeline, or anchorage.

Warning line system A warning line system is a barrier erected on a roof to warn employees that they are approaching an unprotected roof side or edge. The warning line designates an area in which roofing work may take place without the use of guardrail, body harness, or safety net systems to protect employees in the area if a safety monitoring system is used.

Personal fall arrest system An example of a passive system, a protective system that does not involve the actions of employees, is a Personal Fall Arrest System (PFAS). All components of a fall arrest system must be inspected before each use and after impact.

Personal fall arrest system Lanyards are flexible lines of rope, wire rope, or strap. They generally have a connector at each end for connecting the body harness to a deceleration device, lifeline, or anchorage.

This system must have tensile strength of 5000 pounds and contain a locking mechanism. Snaphooks are used to connect lanyards to D-rings on a body harness. They must be proof tested to 3600 pounds and be connected to harness or anchorage point only.

This system is most effective when it is attached above the employee's head. The anchorage point is most effective when it is above the employee's head; it should be located so that the employee won't fall more than 6 feet.

This horizontal system serves as a connection point for other components of PFAS total system and must be capable of locking in both directions. A life line is a connection point for other components of PFAS total system and must be capable of locking in both directions.

This system consists of either nylon or polyester material and evenly distributes weight across the waist, pelvis, and thighs. Harness systems consist of either nylon or polyester harnesses. The best systems will encompass the entire body (full body harness). A full body harness will evenly distribute weight across the waist, pelvis, and thighs.

This system should be attached to a D ring between the shoulder blades above the employee. Lanyards are flexible lines of rope, which generally have a connector at each end for connecting the harness to a deceleration device, lifeline, or anchorage. Lanyards should be attached to a D ring between the shoulder blades above the employee.

2 Positioning devices shall be rigged such that an employee cannot free fall more than 2 feet (.6 m).

Canopies above the Dumpsters When employees are exposed to falling objects, the employer must have employees wear hardhats and implement one of the following measures that include toeboards, screens, a canopy structure, or guardrail systems to prevent objects from falling from higher levels. Also, the areas into which objects could or will fall should be barricaded to prohibit employees from entering the barricaded area.

Synthetic webbing Types of lanyards include self-retracting (eliminates excess slack in the lanyard), shock absorbing (slows and eventually stops decent and absorbs the forces), synthetic rope (absorbs some force by stretching), and synthetic webbing (strong but not flexible; absorbs little force).

A competent person All employees exposed to fall hazards must receive training by a competent person who addresses: the nature of fall hazards in the work area; use and operation of fall arrest equipment; and procedures for erecting, maintaining, disassembling and inspecting fall protection systems to be used.

High steel The fall protection plan option is available only to employees engaged in leading edge work, precast concrete erection work, or residential construction work who can demonstrate that it is infeasible or it creates a greater hazard to use conventional fall protection equipment.

Body belt A body belt is a positioning system to limit a worker free fall to 2 feet.

200 OSHA standards require that the top edge of a guardrail must not deflect more than three inches when 200 pounds is applied in a downward direction.

Hardhats Hardhats must be worn at all times when exposed to falling objects, since not wearing a hardhat has contributed to a lot of deaths in the construction industry.

Fall According to OSHA records, 362 construction workers died on the jobsite every year from 1995 to 1999 due to injuries received as a result of fall hazards.

34 According to OSHA, warning lines must be rigged and supported so that the lowest point (including sag) is never less than 34 inches from the walking/working surface.

6" x 6"

2 seconds It only takes 2 seconds for a worker to reach the ground from a height of six stories. Always use fall protection when working in elevated places.

Implement a Fall Protection Plan A Fall Protection Plan must be put in place when conventional fall protection systems are not feasible or might put workers at risk.

3000 Anchorage for positioning devices must support a potential impact load of 3000 pounds and limit free falls to two feet.

30 Safety nets must be installed at 30 feet or less to prevent fall injuries.