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Fall PotectionOptions o specialty

contactos

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About this publicationFall protection: Options for specialty contractorswas produced by the OR-OSHA Standards and

Technical Resources section and developed by OR-OSHAs 502 Fall Protection Committee.

Thanks to the following individuals for offering theirtime, comments, and suggestions. Special thanks toBob Harris and The Home Builders Association forthe donuts and for providing us a place to meet andwork on this guide.

C t ib t

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Contents

Fall Potection

Poblems o specialty contactos? 2

When must employees

be potected om alls? 4

How to contol all haads 5

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Fall potection Poblems o

specialtycontactos?Most contractors know thatframers and roofers

need to be protected from falls, but what about other

construction tradespeople who begin their workafter

the framing is done, the walls are up, and the oors

are established? Consider these examples:

Painters have to carry materials while climbing

l dd d ff ld b t th t l th i

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Fames and ooes aent the only

constuction tadespeople who need to bepotected om alls Othe wokes who must

think about all potection:

Carpet installers

Communications workers

Drywall installers

Electricians

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When must employees be

potected om alls?Generally, employees must be protected from falls

of 10 feet or more to a lower level. The exceptions?

Employees must be protected from falls of 6 feet or

more if theyre exposed to the following:

Holes and skylights in walking/working surfaces

Wall openings and windows where the sill height

i l h 39 i h b h

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How to contol all haads

A fall hazard is an unprotected, elevated walking/working surface. You can control most fall hazards

by planning your job carefully, training employees

how to work safely, and enforcing safe practices

with on-the-job supervision.

Plan the job caeully

Pl i i th t t i t lli f ll h d

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Tain employees to wok saely

You cant assume your employees know how toprotect themselves from falls. They may not be

familiar with fall hazards at a new job site or know

how to protect themselves until you train them.

Regardless of the fall-protection system or methodyou use, you must ensure that they know how to

recognize fall

hazards and

f ll f

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Enoce sae pactices with on-the-job

supevision

Effective supervisors know how to motivate employ-

ees and, when discipline is neccessary, they know

how to apply it fairly.

Essential tasks o supevisos

Verify that employees have been trained and can

perform their work safely.

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Using altenative

methods to pevent allsAlways plan to eliminate or control fall hazards with

a physical means of fall protection one that will

not allow an employee to fall or will prevent the

employee from hitting the ground or a lower level if

a fall occurs. When a physical means of protecting

employees from falls is infeasible or would create a

greater hazard, you must develop alternative meth-

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When to use altenative methods

The bottom line: The alternative methods you usemust reduce the risk of falling to the lowest extent

possible. Use alternative methods only when a quali-

ed person has determined that a physical means

of protecting employees from falls is infeasibleor would create a hazard greater than the existing

hazard.

U i l i h d b f l

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Fall potection options

o specialty contactosWorking on the roo

Identify

hazards beforeyou begin the

project. Will

other trades-

l b

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Scaffolding:Can be erected at the edge of the

roof or as a catch platform. Catch platformsmust have a standard guardrail and toeboard and

extend at least 2 feet past the eave overhang; the

guardrail must extend substantially above the

slope plane of the roof and prevent a person from

passing over or through the rails.

Aerial lifts: Useful on stable, level terrain. With

appropriate training, a worker can use an aerial

lif h d h h f

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Working in attics

The problem: Trying to move through a crampedattic to do a job while avoiding falling through the

joists. Tight spaces can make it difcult to use a

physical means of fall protection. Consider alterna-

tive methods only

when a physical

means of protect-

ing employees

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Working on established foors

Employees must be protected from uncovered oorholes and the unprotected edges of mezzanines, bal-

conies, and walk-

ways. Floor holes

and edges canpose unexpected

hazards for others

when existing

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stairways, ramps, walkways, and balconies. When

workers need to remove guardrails temporarily, they

must use another fall-protection system or method

until the guardrails are replaced.

Access to work areas

Workers often use access ramps, runways, and lad-

ders without thinking about them, but they account

for a large proportion of fall-related injuries at job

i F l f ll f l dd f

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Stairways:Stairways that have four or more risers

or that rise more than 30 inches, whichever is less,must have at least one handrail and onestairrail

system along each unprotected side or edge.

A stairrail system isa vertical barrier erected

along the unprotected

sides and edges of a

i

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Fequent questionsHow close to the edge o a deck o foo can

employees wok beoe all potection is

equied?

The distance must eliminate the potential

for an employee to stumble and fall over the

unprotected edge. Consider factors such as

the following: Is the walking/working surface

sloped, uneven, or slippery? Are there tripping

h d ? h i d i i ?

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Which tigge height o all potection

applies when tadespeople othe than

ooes ae woking on a oo? Six eet o

10 eet?

The 10-foot trigger height for fall protection

applies to elevated surfaces not designed for

regular use as walking/working surfaces, such

as roofs. The 6-foot trigger height applies when

Fequent questions (continued)

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Impotant ulesFall potection: Subdivision 3/M

1926.501, Duty to have fall protection

437-003-1501, General fall protection

1926.502, Fall protection systems criteria and

practices 437-003-0503, Training requirements

Scaolding: Subdivision 3/L

G l i

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Impotant tems

Altenative methods Methods developed by a

qualied person that minimize the risk of falling.All procedures, tasks, and positioning of em-

ployees must ensure that the work is done with

minimum exposure to fall hazards. Alternative

methods can only be used after a qualied personhas determined that providing a physical means

of fall protection is infeasible or would create a

greater hazard.

C h i bl f

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Physical means o all potection A fall-pro-

tection system or method that will not allow anemployee to fall or will prevent the employee

from hitting the ground or lower level.

Qualied peson One who has successfullydemonstrated his or her ability to solve or resolve

problems relating to the subject matter, work, or

project by earning a recognized degree, certi-

cate, or professional standing, or having extensive

k l d i i d i

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Notes

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Notes

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Services

OR-OSHA offers a wide variety of safety and healthservices to employers and employees:

Consultative Sevices Offers no-cost, on-site safety and health assis-

tance to help Oregon employers recognize andcorrect safety and health problems in their

workplaces. Provides consultations in the areas of safety, in-

dustrial hygiene, ergonomics, occupational safetyand health programs, new-business assistance,

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Public Education & Coneences Conducts conferences, seminars, workshops, and

rule forums.

Coordinates and provides technical training ontopics such as conned space, ergonomics, lock-out/tagout, and excavations.

Provides workshops covering basic safety andhealth program management, safety committees,accident investigation, and job-safety analysis.

Manages the Safety and Health Education and Train-

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ATTIC

ACCESS

HOLES AND

SKYLIGHTS

ROOF

EXCAVATIONS

ESTABLISHED FLOORS

that have unprotected sides and edges

BE AWARE OF FALL HAZARDS!

WALL

OPENINGS

If you plan your project carefully,

you can protect employees from

most fall hazards.

PLANS

A fall hazard is an unprotected, elevated walking/working

surface. You can control most fall hazards by planning your

job carefully, training employees how to work safely, and

enforcing safe practices with on-the-job supervision.

LEADING EDGE WORK

FLOOR HOLE