Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Z359 Committee Continues Important Work to Prevent Occupational Falls

Members of the Z359 ASC work to create consensus
standards to prevent falls from heights.

The ANSI/ASSE Z359 Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) met Tuesday, Oct. 28, at Oakton Community College in Des Plaines, IL. More than 90 people were present to hear updates from members of the ASC's various subgroups. The meeting also featured presentations on topics such as safe practices for rope access work, managed fall protection programs, safety requirements for self-retracting devices for personal fall arrest and rescue systems, lightweight workers and energy-absorbing lanyards, and descending devices. "It is impressive to see so many companies, organizations, labor unions and governmental agencies here to work on standards addressing ways to stop fatalities and injuries resulting from falls from heights," says Randy Wingfield, Z359 ASC chair and president of Gravitec Systems Inc. ASSE is secretariat of the committee and producer of the widely used Z359 Fall Protection Code.