Why Is Fall Protection So Important in the Workplace?
Falls cause many serious work-related injuries and deaths every year. Some simple steps can help prevent these accidents from happening.
Install Workplace Fall Protection
Falls can happen whenever workers are performing tasks at heights. Employers must set up the workplace to prevent workers from falling off overhead platforms, elevated workstations or into holes in the floor and walls. Safety gate manufacturers provide safe gates and fall protection equipment to help employers keep their workers safe when working at heights or around holes in the floor and walls.
Guard floor holes. Use a railing and toe-board or a floor hole cover to guard every floor hole into which a worker can accidentally walk.
Provide guard rail and toe-board. Around every elevated open side platform, floor, or runway, employers must provide a guard rail and toe-board.
Fall into equipment. Regardless of height, if there is a chance that a worker can fall into or onto dangerous machines or equipment, employers must provide guardrails and toe-boards to prevent workers from falling and getting injured. Some examples include falling into a vat of acid or onto a conveyor belt.
Use other fall protection. Other means of fall protection that may be needed for your job include safety harness and line, safety nets, stair railings and handrails.
OSHA has set standards that employers must follow to protect their employees from falls. Employers must do the following in the workplace to protect their workers:
- Provide a workplace free from recognized hazards
- Employers are required to provide working conditions that are free of known dangers.
- Keep floors clean
- Employers should keep floors in work areas in clean and so far as possible, dry condition.
- Provide required personal protective equipment
- Employers must select and provide required personal protective equipment at no cost to workers.
- Train workers on job hazards
- Train workers about job hazards in a language that they can understand.
- Keep Workers Safe
Final Workplace Fall Protection Thoughts
Fall protection is crucial for any job site. Falls don’t care if you have enough manhours to finish a project. One second you are up on that roof, scaffold or ladder and the next you could be plummeting towards the ground. Falls aren’t always predictable, but with proper planning and training they are 100% preventable. Falls are preventable; we can make it happen if everybody takes fall safety seriously. When it comes to it, protecting your employees from falling isn’t something you should consider, it’s one of your primary workplace safety requirements as an employer.