Three Basic Strategies to Adhere to for Successful New Mexico Construction Site Fall Protection

There are a lot of preventive measures which are taken against unexpected falls, yet they are the major cause of fatality at construction sites. Statistically, there were 774 deaths in 2010 in the construction industry, and some of them, roughly around 264, were falls from six feet only. Even if the fall does not result in a fatality, falls can result in bad injuries. Again, close to 10,000 workers were severely injured from falling off heights in the same year of 2010. 

There are a lot of financial concerns associated with business when it comes to falls and unexpected situations. The cost of covering death insurances or medical costs is estimated to be around $70 billion per year in the US only. However, the costs go beyond that. Hiring new workers and training them from scratch as well as working with fewer labor results in more investments which gives companies a big financial hit. Furthermore, workers get afraid when they see their co-worker getting injured or dying at the worksite, which reduces productivity. These factors combined build-up up a less productive working environment, and due to the mental trauma, a fall from a short height can also result in big injuries. This ultimately adds to the medical costs of the business owner. 

To counter this issue, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, NIOSH, as well as National Occupational Research Agenda, collaborated to provide proper teaching to workers alongside further techniques to prevent injuries or fatalities associated with falls. You can access their fact sheets which provide all information that you need to know before working on any such site on this link; https://www.osha.gov/stopfalls/factsheet.html.

Overall, the steps decided to prevent injuries or fatalities associated with falls are divided into three steps; 

• Plan
• Prevent
• Train

A plan generally means to think and note down all the measures that you need to execute the job safely. 

The planning process is to figure out which of the workers need to be working at various heights, such as from ladders or other methods of elevating them from the ground. It is also important to plan accordingly what gear workers need to equip and give them proper training if needed to execute their job safely.

Providing the correct equipment is also necessary and is part of the owner’s job. 

Workers working from around six feet above the ground must be provided with the right gear and equipment such as scaffolds or ladders to keep them safe. It is also important to understand that different height levels require different types of ladders. Therefore, the owner must ensure that the workers with the right kind of equipment for their job. Then there are also some jobs that require PFAS. Therefore, the owner must ensure that workers have a harness. Lastly, the owner or the Safety Admin must ensure that all the necessary gear is provided to the workers before they are asked to go out and work.

Next up is to ensure that all workers are trained to use the equipment correctly.

Providing the right equipment is of no use at all if the workers have no idea how to use them correctly. Again, the owner or the Safety Admin must ensure that all workers are aware of how to use the equipment they are provided with. There are also some popular tutorials available online for workers in New Mexico to counter dangerous falls. Safety Counselling’s Fall Protection Training course, which is offered in a class setting, is amongst the most popular ones.