A Guide to Fall Protection Equipment
The fall protection guidelines have been changed up by the OSHA in order to reduce fatalities in the residential construction workplace. Protection using guard-rail systems, safety nets systems, or personal fall arrest systems are now required if a worker will be working on a residential roofing job which is higher than 6 feet in the air. It is required that an employer come up with a fall protection plan if he thinks that using these fall protection systems is more hazardous to the workers. If he has come up with a fall protection plan, then it requires approval by a qualified person and the same is true if the plan is altered
It is required that a guardrail system be in place or be tied off if a work works in an aerial life or boom-type platform which includes scissor lifts and bucket trucks. Tie-off that are acceptable are given below.
A body belt or a harness is used for a restraint system. If a worker is to be prevented from falling any distance then there must be a fall protection plan in place.
Construction workers need to use positioning devices. This body belt or harness system allows the worker to be supported on a vertical surface like a pole and work while leaning and having hid hands free. A maximum fall of up to 2 feet is allowed by positioning devices. They are not allowed for use in scissor lifts and bucket trucks since they are working on a horizontal platform.
Workers need fall prevention systems when they work in a construction site. These system allow arrested falls if the aerial lift or scaffolding can withstand vertical and lateral loads caused by an arrested fall. Instead of a body belt, a body harness ss used for this system.
The OSHA is enforcing these guidelines. This is because there are weekly deaths related to falls that could have been prevented by using the proper safety procedures and equipment. Workers safety is the primary concern of workers in these industries. For not using safety methods, penalties are imposed which can be very expensive. There have been companies that were charged huge amounts for allowing their workers on roofs without fall protection. Falls could easily be prevented, but is someone is injured or dies from a fall, then this is a penalty worse than a fine.
If you go online, you will be able to find the right fall protection systems or equipment for your workers who work on the roof; this is to prevent them from falling off or prevent them from hurting themselves while working on high places.