In the construction industry, falls are the most common cause of injury and fatality for laborers. In 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 1,075 deaths in the construction industry, of which 421 were related to fatal falls. The construction sector alone accounts for nearly half of the 885 fatal workplace falls that occurred in the general workplace that same year. While construction sites are constantly changing, and providing proper fall protection can be challenging, we owe it to the workers performing vital work to ensure they can do so safely. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 1926 construction standard puts forth minimum requirements that all construction companies must follow in order to provide a safe workplace for their employees. However, while maintaining minimum compliance standards is important, companies should focus on the greater goal of ensuring their workers’ safety throughout their entire day. This article outlines basic requirements for developing a fall protection program for construction businesses, as well as various methods that can be used to properly protect workers.
Fall Protection Requirements in Construction
Per the federal OSHA 1926 standard, construction companies are required to provide safety netting, guardrail or active fall protection systems to any employee exposed to a fall of 6 feet or greater. It is up to the employer to determine which is the most practical and feasible means of providing fall protection. OSHA presumes that it is always feasible to provide fall protection, and in doing so, will not create a greater hazard to the workers. In those rare cases, the employer has the burden of establishing that it is appropriate to implement a fall protection plan that complies with OSHA 1926.
In addition to federal requirements that apply in most states, all contractors and their trade partners should verify if their specific trade or locale requires adherence to other regulatory compliance authorities, such as Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) in mining operations, Cal/OSHA in California, or EM 385-1-1 Safety and Occupational Health Requirements on federal government projects. Furthermore, companies should also refer to the ANSI Z359 fall protection industry consensus standard, which can help determine product compatibility and effectiveness.
Identify Fall Hazards
Once there is a clear understanding of when fall protection is required for all employees, safety program managers should ensure that frequent site surveys are conducted to maintain an inventory of all fall protection hazards existing on the jobsite. For some jobsites, the survey might need to be conducted on a weekly basis, while others may find other frequencies more helpful.
If all workers are thoroughly trained in recognizing fall hazards, identifying and reporting new fall hazards as they arise can be a continuous effort performed by the entire team. It is becoming increasingly common for fall hazard identification to be a part of pre-task assessments before beginning work. The sooner fall hazards are identified and remedied, the safer all workers will be near that fall hazard.
Hazard Elimination & Guardrail (Fall Prevention)
Surprisingly, one of the most effective forms of fall protection uses almost no fall protection equipment. That is to say, eliminating the fall hazard is the best way to prevent a fall from occurring. Precast panels and other prefabrication work done on construction sites can significantly reduce the amount of time workers spend at heights on the construction site.
However, hazard elimination is not always possible on construction sites. That is why utilizing guardrail as a form of passive fall protection is extremely effective in preventing falls from occurring and increasingly common on jobsites. When guardrail is utilized correctly, many fall hazards can be addressed and protected against. Among other requirements, the guardrail must be at least 42 inches high and be capable of withstanding 200 pounds of force.
Active Fall Protection Systems (Fall Arrest)
While guardrail can be very effective for a majority of jobsite fall hazards, the construction process often requires exposure to unprotected edges in order to finish the building. In those scenarios, preventing the fall may no longer be feasible and we must provide workers with fall arrest equipment. Fall arrest equipment cannot prevent a fall from occurring, but it can significantly reduce the amount of injury incurred from a fall.
Fall arrest equipment requires a body harness, a connection device (lanyard or self-retracting lifeline), and a dedicated anchorage. Each time a worker is about to use fall arrest equipment, they must confirm that they are working at a height above the minimum distance required by their connection device.
For example, 6-foot shock-absorbing lanyards typically require at least 18.5 feet to guarantee effectiveness, but many self-retracting lifelines (SRLs) can be effective with only a few feet of clearance. The product manual will contain that distance for each connective device and should be known by the operator. If work is performed below that minimum required distance, workers run the risk of hitting the ground and being exposed to greater-than-anticipated injuries.
When using fall arrest equipment, the height of the anchorage is also important in determining equipment compatibility. Overhead anchorage locations are always preferred to foot-level anchorages because the former will help eliminate “free fall” during fall arrest. Free fall is the time when fall forces are generated and the risk of injury increases. The higher the anchorage, the less free fall that will occur.
User Training
Once fall hazards are identified and solutions are implemented throughout the jobsite, workers must be trained on how to properly use their fall protection equipment. OSHA requires employers to designate all employees who will use fall protection as “Authorized Users,” and employers must provide initial training before they use their equipment. This initial training must teach users how to recognize fall hazards, report when new potential fall hazards are found, and know how to properly use the provided equipment. Retraining should occur as frequently as necessary to keep fall protection awareness top of mind.
Worker safety should be a top priority for all companies. On construction sites, providing fall protection and other means of protection for workers can prove to be a challenging task. However, the difficulty in providing protective measures for workers should never discourage us from our attempts to provide the best solution with the resources available. At the end of the day, the best safety measures are the ones that keep people safe.
If companies are knowledgeable about where fall protection is required and the most effective ways to prevent falls, then they are already on the path to protecting their workers. When fall protection is made a priority on jobsites, everyone on the site benefits. Construction companies are encouraged to reach out to safety companies to help improve existing fall protection systems, develop new solutions to improve effectiveness and provide continuing education to workers.