|
(11.2 Obligation to use fall protection
1) Unless elsewhere provided for in this Regulation, an employer must ensure that a fall protection system is used when work is being done at a place
(a) from which a fall of 3m (10ft) or more may occur, or
(b) where a fall from a lesser height involves an unusual risk of injury.
(2) The employer must ensure that guardrails meeting the requirements of Part 4 (General Conditions) or other similar means of fall restraint are used when practicable.
(3) If the use of guardrails or similar means of fall restraint is not practicable, the employer must ensure that another fall restraint system is used
(4) If the use of a fall restraint system is not practicable, the employer must ensure that a fall arrest system is used.
(5) If the use of a fall arrest system is not practicable or will result in a hazard greater than if the system was not used, the employer must ensure that
(a) a control zone is used in accordance with this Part,
(b) a safety monitor system with a control zone is used in accordance with this Part, or
(c) other procedures acceptable to the board are followed.
11.3 Fall protection plan
(1) The employer must have a written fall protection plan for a workplace if
(a) work is being done at a location where workers are not protected by permanent guardrails, and from which a fall of 7.5m (25ft) or more may occur.
(b) the employer uses a safety monitor and control zone or other work procedures as the means of fall protection, or
(c) the board so directs, because a fall may involve an unusual risk of injury.
(2) The fall protection plan must be available at the workplace before work with a risk of falling begins.
(3) The plan must specify
(a) the fall hazards expected in each work area,
(b) the fall protection system or systems to be used in each area,
(c) the procedures to assemble, maintain, inspect, use and disassemble the fall protection system or systems, and
(d) the procedures for rescue of a worker who has fallen and is suspended by a personal fall protection system or safety net, but is unable to effect self rescue.
WCB news release: Construction industry favours flexibility in safety
Custom-designed Safe-T-Straps were cast into the underside of concrete slabs. As each floor was stripped, the straps dropped down, ready for workers to attach to their harnesses. The devices were installed starting seven feet from the edge of each floor and spaced at 15-foot intervals.
"Any of the trades that have come onto the site are really happy with the Safe-T-Straps," says Newton. "They're accessible, allow total freedom of movement, and you don't have to rig up horizontal or vertical lifelines."
Click for WCB Injury Prevention/General Construction/Fall Protection documents
Occuaptional Health & Safety magazine
eLCOSH : Will Your Safety Harness Kill You?
Harness-Induced Death
Wide ranges of situations require safety harnesses of various types. Workers requiring fall protection, workers entering many confined spaces, mountain climbers, deer hunters in elevated stands, and cave explorers all try to protect themselves through the use of safety harnesses, belts, and seats. What is little known however, is that these harnesses can also kill. Harnesses can become deadly whenever a worker is suspended for duration over five minutes in an upright posture, with the legs relaxed straight beneath the body. This can occur in many different situations in industry. A carpenter working alone is caught in mid-fall by his safety harness, only to die 15 minutes later from suspension trauma. An electrical worker is lowered into a shaft after testing for toxic gases. He is lowered on a cable and is positioned at the right level to repair a junction box. After five minutes he is unconscious--but his buddies tending the line don’t realize it, and 15 minutes later a dead body is hauled out. The cause of this problem is called “suspension trauma.” Fall protection researchers have recognized this phenomenon for decades. Despite this, data have not been collected on the extent of the problem; most users of fall protection equipment, rescue personnel, and safety and health professionals remain unaware of the hazard.
INTERPRETATIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS - - FALL PROTECTION
http://www.osha-slc.gov/Publications/Const_Res_Man/1926m_interps.html
Subject: §1926.502(h)- Safety Monitoring Systems
Question: The type of work I perform permits the use of a safety monitoring system. Must I hire someone whose only function is to serve as safety monitor or can any member of the work crew serve as the safety monitor.
Answer: Employers are not required to hire a person just to be the safety monitor. Any member of the crew could serve as the safety monitor as long as that person is a "competent person" and is not given duties that would prevent him or her from fulfilling their assignment as a safety monitor. There are several provisions under paragraph .502(h) with which the safety monitor must conform. In particular, the monitor must meet the definition of "competent person" which is as follows:
§1926.32(f) Competent person means one who is capable of identifying existing and predictable hazards in the surroundings or working conditions which are unsanitary, hazardous, or dangerous to employees, and who has authorization to take prompt corrective measures to eliminate them.
Also, the monitor must be on the same level and be able to see and talk with the person(s) being monitored. The monitor must be able to see and communicate with "all" the employees being monitored. For example, the monitor cannot be on the first floor while the employees being monitored are on the fifth floor or on the roof. The monitor need only monitor employees while the employees are in the danger zone, on a flat roof, the danger zone is the area outside the warning line. For leading edge work, the danger zone is the entire controlled access zone. A monitor does not necessarily have a continuous function of monitoring. A member of the crew could be designated as the monitor and be called upon when needed, enabling the monitor to be fully engaged in other work when no monitoring function is needed. In some cases, two members of the crew may have to be trained as monitors so that if one monitor is unavailable, the other one can take over. If there are only two employees in the crew, one can be designated as the safety monitor. Monitors must be trained to take their function seriously since this is the least protective of all safety measures.
Visit Oregon OSHA Web Site to view Guidelines for Fall Protection Plans: Before you can use a fall protection plan, you must explain why conventional protection methods - guard rails, safety nets, or personal fall arrest/restraint systems - are infeasible or would pose a greater safety hazard to workers than your proposed method. Be sure to examine ways that eliminate the fall hazard such as scaffolds, catch platforms, or aerial lifts. If you can't eliminate the hazard, you must also explain why.
Click on their publications link for site specific fall protection documents.
http://www.cbs.state.or.us/external/osha/standards/fallplan.htm
OSHA Installation Procedures for Roof Truss and Rafter Erection
During the erection and bracing of roof trusses/rafters, conventional fall protection may present a greater hazard to workers. On this job, safety nets, guardrails and personal fall arrest systems will not provide adequate fall protection because the nets will cause the walls to collapse, while there are no suitable attachment or anchorage points for guardrails or personal fall arrest systems.
On this job, requiring workers to use a ladder for the entire installation process will cause a greater hazard because the worker must stand on the ladder with his back or side to the front of the ladder. While erecting the truss or rafter the worker will need both hands to maneuver the truss and therefore cannot hold onto the ladder. In addition, ladders cannot be adequately protected from movement while trusses are being maneuvered into place. Many workers may experience additional fatigue because of the increase in overhead work with heavy materials, which can also lead to a greater hazard.
Exterior scaffolds cannot be utilized on this job because the ground, after recent backfilling, cannot support the scaffolding. In most cases, the erection and dismantling of the scaffold would expose workers to a greater fall hazard than erection of the trusses/rafters.
On all walls eight feet or less, workers will install interior scaffolds along the interior wall below the location where the trusses/rafters will be erected. "Sawhorse" scaffolds constructed of 46 inch sawhorses and 2x10 planks will often allow workers to be elevated high enough to allow for the erection of trusses and rafters without working on the top plate of the wall.
In structures that have walls higher than eight feet and where the use of scaffolds and ladders would create a greater hazard, safe working procedures will be utilized when working on the top plate and will be monitored by the crew supervisor. During all stages of truss/rafter erection the stability of the trusses/rafters will be ensured at all times.
(Your company name here) shall take the following steps to protect workers who are exposed to fall hazards while working from the top plate installing trusses/rafters:
Only the following trained workers will be allowed to work on the top plate during roof truss or rafter installation:
Workers shall have no other duties to perform during truss/rafter erection procedures;
All trusses/rafters will be adequately braced before any worker can use the truss/rafter as a support;
Workers will remain on the top plate using the previously stabilized truss/rafter as a support while other trusses/rafters are being erected;
Workers will leave the area of the secured trusses only when it is necessary to secure another truss/rafter;
The first two trusses/rafters will be set from ladders leaning on side walls at points where the walls can support the weight of the ladder; and
A worker will climb onto the interior top plate via a ladder to secure the peaks of the first two trusses/rafters being set.
The workers responsible for detaching trusses from cranes and/or securing trusses at the peaks traditionally are positioned at the peak of the trusses/rafters. There are also situations where workers securing rafters to ridge beams will be positioned on top of the ridge beam.
(Your company name here) shall take the following steps to protect workers who are exposed to fall hazards while securing trusses/rafters at the peak of the trusses/ridge beam:
|
|
|
