When working in construction, falling and injuring oneself is always a concern. With the workers lifting gear, lifting equipment, and material handling it is easy to slip up and cause an accident. This is why investing in fall protection courses is crucial if you are construction worker owner.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, OSHA, uses a three step process to prevent dangerous falls and accidents. The steps are plan, provide, and train.
Plan
Before you do anything, one must plan for why they need fall protection courses. You must take a look at the dangers your employees face, including how high up they are, the materials they bring with them, and the stability of the equipment used.
Generally, workers who are six feet or more above the ground level are at the biggest risk for serious injury or death should they fall. This is the maximum distance Federal OSHA allows for fall distance, and there are very rarely exceptions to the rule.
Additionally, OSHA has requirements for fall protection in different workplaces. In general industry workplaces, it is four feet, five feet for shipyards, six feet for the construction industry, and eight feet when operating longshoring. Keep these in mind when you are scheduling your training.
Provide
Providing fall protection certification is crucial so the workers know how to properly take care of themselves in case they fall.
There are many ways you can prevent your employees from falling by providing guardrails, safety nets, and round slings. You can choose from endless, single, two, three, or four legs for the slings.
Train
As falls are the leading cause of death in construction workers, there is no doubt in the importance of fall protection courses.
Typically, the training includes fall arrest. There are two different types of this method, general fall arrest which uses nets, and personal fall arrest which implements lifelines.
Personal fall arrest systems stop a worker from hitting a lower level structure during their fall. They include a full body harness, anchorage, and connectors.
General fall arrests prevent an employee from getting too close to an edge. They use a system of nets, lanyards, and rope grabs.
Fall protection courses can save lives. Sign up for one today.
