Falls are a leading cause of workplace injuries and deaths in the US. OSHA regulations require fall protection for workers at heights of 6 feet or more. Employers must provide guardrails, safety nets, fall arrest systems, or other fall protection and ensure workers use it. Fall protection is required for areas like leading edges, holes, excavations, roofs, walls, and unprotected sides or edges. Personal fall arrest systems must be inspected and used properly. Employers must also have rescue plans and trained competent persons to oversee high-hazard work.

1. Fal l Prot ect i on
Safety & Risk Management
Services
UW-Stout

2. Introduction
 Falls are the second leading cause of
occupational fatalities and disabling injuries in
the United States.
 Each year, over 500 workers die in fall-
related accidents.
 Over 300,000 workers suffer a disabling
injury.
 Most of these accidents occur from falls from
elevations of _____ feet or less.

3. Fall Protection Requirements
 1926.501 Duty to have fall
Protection
 1926.502 Fall Protection systems
criteria and practices

4. 1926.501 - Duty to
have Fall Protection
 All fall protection required by this
section shall conform to the criteria set
forth in 1926.502
 The employer shall determine if the
walking/working surfaces on which its
employees are to work have the
strength and structural integrity to
support employees safely.

5. Duty to have
Fall Protection
 Unprotected sides and edges. Each
employee on a walking/working surface
(horizontal & vertical surface) with an
unprotected side or edge which is 6’ or
more above a lower level shall be
protected from falling by the use of
guardrail systems, safety net systems,
or personal fall arrest systems (PFAS).

6. Background
 The standard identifies 15 areas or
activities where some type of fall
protection is needed if the potential fall
distance is six feet or greater

7. Areas/activities covered:
 Leading edges (different levels)
 Hoist areas
 Holes (including skylights)
 Ramp, runways & other walkways
 Excavations
 Overhead bricklaying & related work
 Wall openings

8. Areas/activities covered:
 Roofing
 Walking/Working surfaces not
otherwise addressed

9. Exception
 The provisions of this sections do not
apply when employees are making an
inspection, investigation, or assessment
of workplace conditions prior to the
actual start of work or after all work has
been completed.

10. Leading Edge
 Definition--The edge of a floor, roof, or
formwork for a floor or other
walking/working surface (such as the
deck) which changes location as
additional floor, deck, etc. is added. A
leading edge is considered to be an
“unprotected side & edge” during
periods when it is not actively under
construction.

11. Leading Edge
 Each employee who is constructing a
leading edge 6’ or more above lower
levels shall be protected from falling
unless the employer can demonstrate it
creates a greater hazard to use a fall
protection system.

12. Leading Edge
 Each employee on walking/working
surfaces shall be protected from falling
through holes (including skylights) more
than 6 feet above lower levels, by
Personal Fall Arrest Systems (PFAS),
covers, or guardrail systems erected
around such holes.

13. Holes
 Each employee on walking/working
surfaces shall be protected from falling
through holes (including skylights) more
than 6 feet above lower levels by PFAS,
covers, or guardrail systems.
 Employees shall be protected from
tripping in or stepping into holes and
from objects falling through holes.

14. Excavations
 Excavations. Each employee at the
edge of an excavation 6 feet or more in
depth shall be protected from falling by
guardrail systems, fences, or barricades
when the excavation are not readily
seen because of plant growth or other
visual barrier.

15. Excavations
 Excavations. Each employee at the
edge of a well, pit, shaft, and similar
excavation 6’ or more in depth shall be
protected from falling by guardrail
systems, fences, barricades, or covers.

16. Low-Slope roofs
 Definition—a slope ≤ to 4” to 12”
 Working 6’ or more above lower level
shall be protected from falling by
 Guardrail system
 Safety net system
 Personal fall arrest system
 Warning line and one of the above
 Warning line and safety monitoring system

17. Steep Roofs
 Each employee on a steep roof with
unprotected sides and edges 6’ or more
above lower levels shall be protected
from falling by guardrail systems with
toe boards, safety net systems, or
PFAS.

18. Steep roof - Example
 Bowman Hall

19. Low-slope roof - Example
 LLC

20. Low-slope roof - Example
 Applied Arts

21. Low-slope roof - Example
 How would you
change that light?
 Articulating lift?
 Extension ladder?
 Hang over edge?
 All of the above
require special
procedures. Know
them!

22. Low-slope roof - Example
 Walkway between
EHS and Voc.
Rehab.

23. Low-slope and Steep-roof
 Bowman Hall

24. Protection from Falling
Objects
 When an employee is exposed to falling
objects, the employer shall have each
employee wear a hard hat and shall
implement one of the following:
 Erect Toe boards, screens or guardrail…
 Erect a canopy
 Barricade the area

25. 1926.502 Fall protection
systems…
 General Requirement: Fall
Protection must be provided and
installed before the employee begins
the work that requires fall protection.

26. Fall Protection Systems
 Guardrail systems
 Safety Net systems
 Personal fall arrest systems (PFAS)
 Positioning device systems
 Warning line systems
 Controlled access system
 Safety monitoring system

27. Personal Fall Arrest System
 PFAS is a system to arrest an
employee in a fall and consists of an
anchorage, connectors, body belt or
body harness and may include a
lanyard, deceleration device, lifeline, or
combination of these.
 The use of a body belt for fall arrest is
prohibited!

28. Personal Fall Arrest System
 Personal fall arrest systems (PFAS) and
their use shall comply with the
provisions covering Connectors; Dee-
rings; Snaphooks; Webbing; Lifelines;
Lanyards; Ropes; Anchorages; etc.
 Specific details pertaining to the above
can be found in 29CFR 1926.502(d).

29. Personal Fall Arrest System
 The attachment point of the body harness
shall be located in the center of the wearer’s
back near shoulder level, or above the
wearer’s head.
 PFAS and components subjected to impact
loading shall be immediately removed from
service and not used again and until
inspected by competent person to be
undamaged & suitable for reuse.

30. Personal Fall Arrest System
 PFAS shall be inspected prior to each
use for wear, damage and other
deterioration, and defective
components shall be removed from
service.
 PFAS shall not be attached to
guardrails or used to hoist materials

31. Competent Person
Construction personnel who will be
responsible for supervision on job sites
where fall hazards exist. Knows OSHA
competent person requirements for fall
protection, fall hazard identification,
how to select the proper protective
system and the importance of planning
for fall protection.

32. Safety Monitoring System
 Safety Monitoring System is:
 a safety system in which a competent
person is responsible for recognize fall
hazards.
 Shall warn the employee when it appears
the employee is unaware of a fall hazard
or is acting in an unsafe manner.

33. Safety Monitoring System
 The Monitor:
 Shall be on the same walking/working
surface and within visual sighting distance
of the employee being monitored.
 Shall be close enough to communicate
orally with the employee.
 Shall NOT have other responsibilities
which could take the monitor’s attention
from the monitoring function.

34. Safety Monitoring System
 Mechanical equipment shall not be used or
stored in areas where safety monitoring
systems are being used to monitor emp.
 No employee, other than an employee
engaged in roofing work [on low-sloped
roofs] or an employee covered by a fall
protection plan, shall be allowed in an area
where an employee is being protected by a
safety monitor system.

35. Safety Monitoring System
 Each employee working in a controlled
access zone shall be directed to comply
promptly with fall hazard warnings from
safety monitors.

36. Ladder Safety and
Support Systems
 Examples of “some” of the locations
that can be on campus

37. Ladder Safety – Fall
Protection
 Light Pole at
Williams football
stadium.
 Notice vertical wire
cable

38. Ladder Safety – Fall
Protection
 Light Pole at
Williams football
stadium.
 Notice vertical wire
cable

39. Ladder Safety – Fall
Protection
 Light poles east of
outdoor track

40. Ladder Safety – Fall
Protection
 Light Pole east of
outdoor track
 Notice vertical wire
cable

41. Ladder Safety and
Support Systems
 All safety devices must be capable of
withstanding, without failure, a drop test
consisting of a 500 pound weight.
 All safety devices must permit the
worker to ascend or descend without
continually having to hold, push, or pull
any part of the device, leaving both
hands free for climbing

42. Ladder Safety and
Support Systems
 All safety devices must be activated
within 2 feet after a fall occurs, and limit
the descending velocity of an employee
to 7 feet/second or less.
 The connection between the carrier or
lifeline and the point of attachment to
the body belt or harness must not
exceed 9 inches in length.

43. Ladder Safety Devices
 Mountings for rigid carriers must be
attached at each end of the carrier, with
intermediate mountings, spaced along
the entire length of the carrier, to
provide the necessary strength to stop
workers’ falls.

44. Rope Grab
 Def. - Is a deceleration device which
travels on a lifeline and automatically,
by friction, engages the lifeline and
locks so as to arrest the fall of an
employee. A rope grab usually
employs the principle of inertial locking,
cam/level locking, or both.

45. Self-retracting lifeline/lanyard
 Def. – Is a deceleration device
containing a drum-wound line which
can be slowly extracted from, or
retracted onto, the drum under slight
tension during normal employee
movement, and which, after onset of a
fall, automatically locks the drum and
arrests the fall.

46. Steps to follow
1. Determine if walking/working surfaces
are structurally safe
2. Conduct a fall protection hazard
assessment
3. Eliminate the need for fall protection if
possible
4. Select the appropriate type of fall
protection system

47. Steps to follow
5. Develop rescue & retrieval procedures
1. May involve calling “911”
5. Contact your supervisor if you have
any questions!

48. Don’t improvise!
 Does this look
safe?

49. Don’t take chances!
 Does this look
acceptable?
 Any questions?

50. Don’t take chances when
climbing!
Any Questions?