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It's no exaggeration to say OSHA guardrail requirements and fall protection measures are the most important workplace safety considerations. As falls are the leading cause of workplace injuries, fall protection is one of OSHA's biggest focal points, and their attention in that area is growing sharper.
In May 2023, OSHA announced the beginning of a "National Emphasis Program to prevent falls" in response to Bureau of Labor Statistics data showing 680 of 5,190 workplace injuries in 2021 were the result of falls.
As OSHA begins placing renewed and intensified scrutiny on safety precautions to course correct the number of workplace falls, ensuring that sites understand regulations, know the types of falls officers will scrutinize and implement OSHA compliant guardrails and other necessary equipment will be paramount to success. To help workplace safety professionals achieve these goals, we'll break down the most important working-at-height solutions that safety managers, company owners and facility managers should know to prepare for OSHA's renewed scrutiny of fall safety. Then, we'll cover how companies can ensure they secure the best OSHA compliant guardrails, rooftop fall protection devices and other fall protection systems.
Not surprisingly, OSHA's fall-protection standards are the most regularly cited workplace safety violations. To mitigate these risks, the emphasis program is implementing a three-pronged approach:
Establish and provide guidance for identifying and inspecting fall hazards
Opening safety and health inspections any time someone is observed working at heights
Provide outreach on fall protection enhancements, even when an inspection is considered unnecessary
How OSHA's compliance officers will implement these plans wasn't made clear in the initial press release, but one thing is certain: when OSHA announces plans to increase inspections, they almost always do.
With clear indications of increasing scrutiny over fall hazards, companies will be under greater pressure to ensure:
Fall protection equipment is built to the highest standards
The equipment is applied and installed correctly
All responsible parties firmly understand their local fall protection regulations
Unfortunately, many businesses spend less than $200 per employee on training (numbers are unclear on overall expenditure on precautions). As OSHA enforcement increases, however, safety managers may need to better prioritize not only employee safety education but also their organizations' fall protection systems.
Fall hazards involve a huge number of areas at any given job site, and those areas could be different depending on what industry you're in. The only way to be 100% sure you don't leave anything open to chance is to:
Knowing all relevant OSHA regulations impacting your industry and locality
Continually scanning for updates or otherwise making sure you're promptly notified of any changes
It's also important to remember that not every fall hazard involves great heights. Drop-offs of only four feet are when the vast majority of OSHA fall protection regulations kick in. In certain conditions, even just a single-step transition or a change in material with no vertical transition at all could invoke certain fall protection standards (such as on rooftops or near ladders and parapets).
The following are just some of the most common work sites and considerations that deserve your attention, along with the associated fall protection equipment designed to meet or exceed the widest range of OSHA standards.
Rooftop & Platform Edges
The most important consideration for loading docks, mezzanines, rooftops, facilities, or any other worksite are usually OSHA guardrail requirements. This is especially true when elevated access points require even temporary breaks in a guardrail's continuity. Ask yourself the following whenever you're at a worksite with elevated work surfaces:
Wherever possible, do fall protection railings connect all the way to adjacent vertical surfaces?
Are there level transitions requiring custom guardrail sizes?
Do any OSHA-compliant guardrails and other leading-edge fall protection devices coincide with other requirements (such as warning markings near leading edges)?
Are there any recommendations for enhancing fall protection listed alongside relevant OSHA guardrail requirements?
At any elevated access point (e.g., hatches, fixed ladders, and other openings), is there a specialty gate, handrail, or grab bar device that would enhance worker safety?
Interior Openings
Surface edges are far from the only place that need or could benefit from rooftop fall protection. Openings in the middle of elevated work areas require equally robust considerations, including:
Effective railings and gates for ladder access points and hatch openings
Interior rooftop openings (such as courtyards), where OSHA guardrail requirements are in full effect
Custom-fit fall protection screens for rooftop skylights
Machines and Heavy Equipment
Whether teams use machines directly on elevated platforms to operate machinery regularly, or merely to access them for maintanence, it's necessary to consider machine guarding. This can be straightforward if the machine or heavy equipment is fixed; OSHA-compliant guardrails are an easy solution. In other cases – such as mobile equipment used for rooftop work – it requires rooftop safety measures throughout the work area. For instance:
Machines operated perpendicular to a roof's leading edge require warning lines at least 10 feet before the edge
Machines operated in parallel with the leading edge require warning lines at least 6 feet away
Note that machine guarding also applies wherever there are trip hazards near the machine, even on a non-transitory surface. Along with increasing worker safety and preventing equipment from dropping, these measures will protect valuable equipment.
Construction Sites
Construction sites require particularly nuanced attention to fall protection, as site conditions change frequently. Even a slight change at a construction site can potentially invoke any number of OSHA fall protection regulations. This makes it extremely important to ensure your construction project's fall safety is maintained with the broadest range of construction safety equipment, such as:
Portable and easily installed clamp-on guardrails
Parapet safety guardrail systems
Warning lights (preferably solar-powered, for the most flexible placement)
OSHA compliant guardrails & integrated access ladders
For any of the fall protection areas mentioned above, it's important to make several other considerations:
Is equipment built to standard dimensions suitable? If the hazard area can’t support a standard-sized solution, custom fall protection is a necessity
How easy is the equipment to install?
Are there unique guardrail solutions that will conform to any oddly shaped areas (such as HVAC equipment or conduits that protrude over railing pathways)?
BlueWater serves the fall protection needs of numerous industries, including various energy sectors, manufacturing and warehousing, food and drug processing, transportation and more. If you'd like assistance adapting to OSHA's National Emphasis Program and maximizing your facility, construction site and rooftop fall protection systems, contact us. Our knowledgeable service representatives are standing by.