The eighth annual National Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction is May 3-7, 2021. OSHA encourages construction employers and other stakeholders to join the event to promote awareness and training to address one of the industry’s most serious dangers.
“Workers suffer serious and fatal injuries from falls and have a devastating impact on families and businesses,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health James Frederick. “This important collaboration with the construction industry encourages employers to learn how to better control fall-related hazards and improve their safety and health programs.”
During the week May 3-7, OSHA is requesting that companies join together to perform a Stand-Down on Fall Prevention. The intent of this effort is to reduce the number of injuries and fatalities due to falls, both at work and at home. Falls are the leading cause of death in the construction industry. A fall can occur in a split second without any time for a person to react. That is why fall prevention and fall protection are so important. One mistake can cost you your life or your livelihood.
https://www.osha.gov/stop-falls-stand-down/resources
Fall prevention is those techniques and methods used to reduce or eliminate the potential for a fall. We think of methods such as guardrails, gates, skylight covers, handrails, barricades, and positioning devices as fall prevention. We can also utilize techniques such as employee training, hazard recognition and job planning to help prevent falls.
Fall protection is somewhat different; it’s the equipment used once a person has a fall to minimize the consequences Equipment such as a full body harness with lanyards attached to an anchor point or a full body harness with a self-retracting lifeline attached to an anchor point are examples of fall protection devices. Training is required to use fall protection equipment.
Whenever discussing fall protection, it is important to consider fall rescue. If a person cannot self-rescue, then it is up to someone else to provide aid and rescue to the stranded victim. Have a plan. It can take as little as 7 minutes for a suspended person to have serious health complications while being suspended in a full body harness. Signs you should look for include faintness, sweating, paleness, nausea, loss of vision, and/or loss of consciousness.
What you should do for a suspended person:
- Ensure that help is on the way by alerting the rescue team
- Do not become a victim yourself by attempting rescue
- Have the person pump their legs to keep blood circulating or have them deploy emergency leg straps, if available
- Keep talking to the victim so you can determine their condition and keep them calm until the rescue team arrives
Other Potential Fall Hazards
When discussing potential fall hazards, the sky is literally the limit. There is a potential for a fall in almost everything we do. Just tripping over a bootlace and falling to the same level can cause a serious injury or death. If we add height to the mix it only makes the situation worse.
Fall protection or prevention is required whenever six feet (construction) and four feet (general industry) or more above the level below, or at any level above a recognized hazard. Fall protection is required when in the basket of an aerial lift. When a portion of a handrail or decking is removed fall, protection is required.
In most cases, a person does not require fall protection when climbing a portable ladder. But you may need a ladder cage or fall protection for a fixed ladder with an unbroken length of 20 feet or more.
When working on roofs, it may be a requirement to use fall protection devices or another method of warning at the leading edge. Check the OSHA standards to determine the exact requirements for the situation you will be working in for what you will need.
On scaffolds, if the proper handrails, mid-rails and toe boards are in place there generally is no need for fall protection equipment. However, if the scaffold handrail and mid-rail system is missing or incomplete, then fall protection is required. Fall protection is also mandatory when the scaffold is being erected or taken down.
Wall openings and floor holes must be protected or covered to prevent possible falls of either persons or materials; otherwise fall protection must be worn. When working around covered or barricaded openings, it is important to verify that the openings are still covered or guarded and remain safe.
Also, covers over floor holes must be able to carry at least twice the amount of weight that may be placed on them, must be secured in place, and labeled with the hazard.
Be familiar with the hazards while working from heights. The more you know the safer you will be. Hazard recognition is a combination of training and experience mixed with a good dose of common sense. You cannot protect yourself if you do not know when you are walking into trouble.
We want you to stay safe at work and at home when working from heights. Safety is a joint responsibility, both yours and ours. We want you to be able to leave work in at least as good a condition as when you arrived.
It’s not the fall that gets you, it’s the sudden stop. The farther the fall, the more forceful and damaging that sudden stop becomes. You must always stay diligent and aware. Make sure that you “See the Hazard” and mitigate or eliminate each one. If you are not sure, ask a question. Take the safety attitude home with you at the end of the day. We want you back for your next shift in the same condition that you leave here today.