Working from Heights & Fall Protection Consulting
Fall protection remains the top violation by OSHA for more than a decade. Before that, it was scaffolding. It’s an obvious violation that is visible, and it has also resulted in the highest number of industry injuries and fatalities, so it remains on OSHA’s top watch categories of violations. It is very interesting to note that out of top 10 OSHA violations, four are directly / indirectly related to Working from/on heights or Fall Protection like:
- Fall Protection, construction (29 CFR 1926.501)
- Ladders, construction (29 CFR 1926.1053)
- Scaffolding, construction (29 CFR 1926.451)
- Fall Protection Training, construction (29 CFR 1926.503)
Safety Program Set Up
Navigating the Cost of Compliance vs. the High Stakes of Non-conformance
A single fall protection violation can be upto $15,000 and a willful or repeated violation with 3 years can be 10 times of it. Owners/operators/Employers are required to prevent employees from falling from elevations like overhead workstations/areas/platforms or into pits/holes on the floor. Fall protection is required at elevations of 4 ft for general industry, 5 ft from shipyards, and 6 ft in construction. Additionally, fall protection is required for workers working in dangerous environments, including equipment/machinery, irrespective of the height.
OSHA requires that fall protection be provided at elevations of four feet in general industry
workplaces, five feet in shipyards, six feet in the construction industry, and eight feet in
long shoring operations. In addition, OSHA requires that fall protection be provided when
working over dangerous equipment and machinery, regardless of the fall distance. Typical
measures to mitigate this issue include guards on the floor, guard rails, toe-boards, safety harnesses,
safety nets, stair railings, handrails, etc.
Building a Safer Workplace
AGGIE SAFETY’s Bilingual Fall Protection Training & Comprehensive Site Inspections
AGGIE SAFETY can provide help by providing FALL Protection certified training in both English/Spanish to employees. AGGIE SAFETY’s unique training programs train supervisors to ensure the implementation of fall protection measures in addition to other safety issues. Additionally, Aggie Safety experts can inspect worksites/jobsites to detect any unmitigated fall hazards. This will also include PPE inspection of safety harnesses, lanyards, etc.