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At What Height is Fall Protection Required
If you look at the most common injuries that take place at work, you will see that falls happen to top both accidents and falls.
At the end of the day, it is the responsibility of you as an employer to arrange some kind of fall protection.
Arrangements have to cover someone falling from a work site, an overhead platform, any kind of elevated workstation, or even holes in wall structures.
The OSHA states that reducing falls from platforms, uneven floor surfaces, raised workstations, and more is required.
OHSA also stipulates that fall protection has to exist where there is a workplace elevation of more than four feet. In shipyards, this is five feet.
If you want to find out more about fall protection, take a look below.
Workplace Fall Protection in the Construction Industry
If you work in the construction business, then you will need to provide some kind of fall protection if your team is working at an elevation over six feet.
In a longshore business, the elevation cannot be more than 8 feet without some kind of fall protection being put into place.
Whenever workers are using any kind of dangerous equipment, or whenever someone is operating dangerous machinery at an elevation, it is the employer’s responsibility to provide fall protection so that accidents and injuries can be prevented.
Workers have to be trained to understand the risks that they face as well as understand various hazards in the workplace.
Meetings have to be held on a regular basis to ensure that everyone is complying with the latest OSHA standards and to also ensure that safety is a priority across the business.
Exceptions to the Fall Protection Rule
OSHA has made exceptions to the rules that are in place to ensure that those who work in various industries have a clear understanding of what is required of them.
Scaffolding can only be used on a temporary basis, and it has to be constructed properly. Any scaffolding that is over 10 feet has to have some degree of fall protection, for example.
Steel Erection
If you look at the steel erection regulations, you will see that they are notorious for being hard to understand. As a general rule, anyone who is involved in steel erection activities, do not have to have any kind of fall protection.
Ladders
Railings have to be placed on stairways or ladders that are four risers high or more. Stairways are exempt if they are not used often and are only used by team members who are familiar with them. The maximum reach of a ladder would be 24 feet.
If you want to ensure that you are giving your workers the maximum possible support when working at a height, then we are here to help. Our team is able to provide you with more information on fall protection as well as help you understand when fall protection is required. If you want to find out more, then we highly recommend that you get in touch by calling us at (888) 733-7780.