Workplace fall prevention is critical in saving the lives of countless workers. Over 1,000 people die each year as a result of falling in their workplace.
Since 2015, nearly 9,000 workers have suffered fatal injuries after falling at work.
Construction workers make up about 20% of these fatalities. In fact, falling is the leading cause of death among construction workers.
Many, if not all, of these incidents were avoidable with proper workplace fall prevention measures in place.
How to Prevent Falls
Employers can take several measures to minimize the risk of fall-related worker fatality, including:
-
- Use fall protection if working at heights greater than 6 feet.
- Make a fall prevention plan before beginning a job.
- Inspect the job site at the beginning of each workday to identify and evaluate fall hazards.
- Provide workers with the right equipment for the job.
- Train everyone to use equipment safely
- Inspect all safety equipment (such as harness, lanyard, and anchorage point) before each use.
- Clean up debris and equipment from the job site at the end of each day.
PLAN. PROVIDE. TRAIN.
In response to the alarming number of construction fatalities, OSHA has partnered with NORA – Construction Sector since 2012 to raise awareness about common fall hazards in construction and how to improve workplace safety.
The campaign outlines three steps to drastically mitigate the risk of falling:
PLAN ahead to get the job done safely:
Employers must plan projects to ensure that the job is done safely when working from heights. Begin by deciding how the job will be done, what tasks will be involved, and what safety equipment may be needed to complete each task.
Employers should also include safety equipment when estimating the cost of a job. They should plan to have all the necessary equipment and tools available at the construction site
PROVIDE the right equipment:
Workers who are six feet or more above lower levels are at risk for serious injury or death if they should fall.
Employers must provide fall protection and the right equipment for the job in order to protect these workers. This includes the right kinds of ladders, scaffolds, and safety gear.
TRAIN everyone to use the equipment safely:
Every worker should be trained on proper set-up and safe use of equipment they use on the job. Employers must train workers in recognizing hazards on the job.
Peace Environmental and Fall Prevention
Peace Environmental provides GAP analyses to determine the overall level of compliance within your facilities. Once this is completed, we provide recommendations to help ensure your OSHA compliance objectives are met.
To counter OSHA’s reactive regulatory approach, Peace Environmental is pro-active in that we act to anticipate and prevent issues before they become regulatory problems for our clientele.
In addition to these services, Peace Environmental has also successfully functioned on our client’s behalf to help litigate OSHA fines and proposing mutual remedial solutions to reduce or eliminate the fines in their entirety.
