From seasoned construction workers to inexperienced do-it-yourselfers, nearly 600 people die from injuries sustained from falls each year. The safety community, working with construction business owners, unions, trade associations and the public must do a better job of making the case that working at heights requires fall protection equipment.
Noted fall protection safety expert Thom Kramer made a compelling argument during ASSE’s At-Risk Symposium held earlier this year in Washington, DC. As he pointedly asks, if these 600 fatalities occurred at the same time, wouldn’t society do everything possible to ensure that procedures were in place so people working at heights were protected from danger?
To learn more about fall protection and available resources, be sure to read ASSE's Tech Brief on the Z359 Fall Protection Code. You can also download ANSI/ASSE Z359.0-2012, Definitions and Nomenclature Used for Fall Protection and Fall Arrest, for free.