It’s good to know that we, in Australia, have some of the best OSHA Fall Protection around. In fact, fairly recently the US government cited Australia and New Zealand in a final ruling which has resultantly increased the safety of construction workplaces. Fall protection is getting increasingly important, as we strive to build higher and higher into the sky, and as such the options available to sites is growing.
Obviously the most standard piece of OSHA Fall Protection apparatus is the good, old fashioned construction safety netting. This is something like a trapeze net, which catches anyone or anything that falls from a height. There are a number of regulations regarding this, not least of which is the testing and evaluation of the construction. Nets must extend outwards in relation to how high they are being built, and should be able to withstand considerably more than your weight. The most effective test is dropping a sandbag from the greatest height, and watching the results.
Very often, safety netting isn’t appropriate, and it’s here that OSHA Fall Protection guidelines state that a safety harness is used above a certain height. This height is deemed to be around 6 foot. Again, simply having the safety apparatus in place doesn’t mean that you are necessarily safe, as it has to be tested. Also, obstructions can impede the fall of a person, and these need to be taken into consideration, simply by nature of the physics involved in wearing a harness.
The relatively new technology of safety screens rather than safety netting is one which is becoming increasingly used, but given the relatively high cost of such devices, they will not come into common usage for a number of years.
Any OSHA Fall Protection considerations should be sure to encompass more general aspects of construction safety such as the proper supervision of construction workers, the implementation of safe work procedures and maintenance of the selected OSHA Fall Protection system.
Maintenance is another pertinent element of OSHA Fall Protection. Ultimately, fitting safety devices and training workers in their use isn’t the basic requirement. Regular and documented checks need to be made not just on a frequency basis, but also after any event which could have an impact on the effectiveness of a safety harness, netting or screen. This could be something as innocuous as a rain shower, of period of inactivity on site. These checks do not have to be exhaustive, but should be documented properly to avoid misunderstanding.
The need to establish when and where these fall hazard systems should be placed is an absolutely vital one, and courses are available to enable you to more accurately establish the needs of any given situation. Fall hazards are a significant risk in our industry, and the less of them we have, the better things will go on our construction sites.
