On June 5, 2014, LJB Inc. presented Fall Protection Stand-Down: Plan, Provide, Train, a webinar to help
safety professionals address fall protection concerns. Thom Kramer, president
of International Society on Fall Protection, explained that to address fall
hazards, organizations must plan and be aware of risks; provide the right
equipment; and train workers in order to change behavior.
Plan
An effective way to start off the planning process may be to
ask the following questions:
•Have you thought through the work process?
•Have safe anchorage points been identified along the work
path?
•Have you accounted for all variables?
•Do you have all needed PPE?
•Do you have a complete fall protection system?
•Are the components compatible?
•Is there training that ties these components together?
According to Kramer, fall protection policies should
indicate that hazard identification, evaluation and control be performed for
all tasks with potential for falling a distance that meets or exceeds the
threshold height requiring fall protection. The general industry threshold
height is 4 ft, however, threshold heights vary by industry and application.
Planning must account for all aspects of a personal fall
arrest system. Anchor points should be pre-identified so that workers do not
need to take time to decide on anchor points during a task. Likewise, equipment
capabilities and clearance issues must be evaluated during the planning process
to help limit unforeseen challenges.
Provide
Kramer warns that merely providing harnesses is not enough.
PPE must be evaluated to ensure that it will be effective at the necessary
height. Elements to consider during this evaluation include the type of
lanyard, the anchorage location relative to the dorsal D-ring and any objects
located in the potential fall path.
Fall protection equipment must also be inspected regularly,
including daily pre-use inspections, formal inspections every 6-12 months and
incident investigation inspections.
“A lot of people are in the dark when it comes to how much
is too much deterioration,” says Kramer about the results of fall protection
equipment inspections. Signs of deterioration to watch for include frayed
thread, cuts, tears, heat exposure and discoloration. PPE must also be taken
out of service after an incident during which the PPE was worn.
Training
Kramer suggests consulting the ANSI/ASSE Z359 fall
protection code’s training requirements, adding that the standard’s list of 15
duties of a competent person may be especially helpful.
When preparing fall protection training strategies, certain training
options must be carefully considered. For example, while a classroom setting
may be appropriate for certain types of training, hands-on training is more
effective for equipment use and inspection training. Ensure that all
instructors are qualified, and determine forms of media to use based on your
audience and training content.