OSHA Fall Protection System | Policy | Types of Fall Protection

1. PURPOSE

1.1       This procedure defines the requirements to prevent injuries due to falls from heights and to protect individuals who perform work activities at elevated work surfaces.

1.2       In some very limited circumstances where the listed fall protection requirements are not feasible or create a greater hazard, the site must develop and implement a fall protection plan using alternative fall protection requirements.

2. OSHA Fall Protection System | Policy | Types of Fall Protection

2.1       This procedure applies to all personnel, contractors, and visitors whose work activities are required at elevated work surfaces. The requirements of this procedure must be applied to all work activities that expose individuals to falls from elevated work areas.

3. DEFINITIONS

3.1      Body belt (safety belt):  A strap or belt secured around the waist and attached to a lanyard, lifeline, or deceleration device. BODY BELTS ARE NOT PERMITTED FOR FALL PROTECTION OR POSITIONING.

3.2       Body Harness:  Straps which may be secured about the employee in a manner that will distribute the fall arrest forces over at least the thighs, pelvis, waist, chest and shoulders with means for attaching it to other components of a personal fall arrest system.

3.3      Guardrail System:  A barrier erected to prevent employees from falling to lower levels. Design requirements for guardrail systems are described in this document.

3.4       Lanyard:  A flexible line of rope, wire rope, or strap which generally has a connector at each end for connecting the body harness to a deceleration device, lifeline, or anchorage.

3.5       Personal Fall Arrest System:  A system used to arrest an employee in a fall from a working level. It consists of an anchorage, connectors, body harness, and may include a lanyard, deceleration device, lifeline, or suitable combinations of these. The use of a body belt for fall arrest is prohibited.

3.6       Positioning Device System:  Body harness system rigged to allow an employee to be supported on an elevated vertical surface, such as a wall, and work with both hands free while leaning.

3.7      Safety Monitoring System:  A safety system in which a competent person is responsible for recognizing and warning employees of fall hazards.

3.8       Snaphook:  A connector comprised of a hook-shaped member with a normally closed keeper, or similar arrangement, which may be opened to permit the hook to receive an object and, when released, automatically closes to retain the object. Snaphooks are generally one of two types:

• The locking type with a self-closing, self-locking keeper which remains closed and locked until unlocked and pressed open for connection or disconnection.
• The non-locking type with a self-closing keeper which remains closed until pressed open for connection or disconnection.

3.9       Toeboard:  A low protective barrier that prevents the fall of materials and equipment to lower levels and provide protection from falls for personnel.

3.10    Unprotected Sides and Edges:  Any side or edge (except at entrances to points of access) of a walking/working surface, for example, floor, roof, ramp, or runway where there is no wall or guardrail system.

3.11    Walking/Working Surface:  Any surface, whether horizontal or vertical, on which an employee walks or works, including, but not limited to, floors, roofs, ramps, bridges, runways, formwork and concrete reinforcing steel, but not including ladders, vehicles, or trailers, on which employees must be located in order to perform their job duties.

3.12    Warning Line System:  A barrier erected on a roof to warn employees that they are approaching an unprotected roof side or edge and which designates an area where additional fall protection is required.

4. SUMMARY

• Personnel, visitors, and contractors can be allowed to walk only on those surfaces that can safely support them.
• When personnel are subject to falling 2 m (6 feet) or more, fall protection must be provided. The distance is measured from the surface the individual is standing on (or otherwise supported on) to the lower level.
• Fall protection is limited to the following systems, except where equivalent safeguards are defined in a fall protection plan:
• Guardrail systems
• Safety net systems
• Personal fall arrest systems
• Positioning device systems
• Warning line systems
• Safety monitoring systems
• Covers
• This specification allows for limited use of alternate fall protection plans where the fall protection described in this document is not feasible or creates a greater hazard.

5. FALL PROTECTION

5.1      Fall Protection System Criteria

Sites must install fall protection systems for any work at heights above 2 m (6 feet) or as specified in Appendix A. Installation must be complete before personnel begin work activities that makes fall protection necessary.

5.1.1   Guardrail Systems

Guardrail systems must include the following provisions:

• The height of the top edge of top rails must be 910 mm (42 inches) plus or minus 75 mm (3 inches) above the working level.
• For personnel using ladders, stilts, or other work surfaces for elevation, the top edge height of the top rail, or equivalent member, must be 910 mm (42 inches) plus or minus 75 mm (3 inches) above the working level.
• Midrails, screens, or mesh must be installed between the top edge of the guardrail and the working surface when there is no wall at least 0.5 m (21 inches) high. When midrails are used, they must be midway between the top of the guardrail and the working surface. When screens and mesh are used, they must extend the full length between the top rail and the surface.
• Guardrail systems, including wire rope systems must be able to withstand a horizontal force of at least 0.9 kN (200 lb.) applied within two inches of the top edge.
• Midrails, screens, mesh, and equivalent structures must be able to withstand a force of at least 0.7 kN (150 lb.)
• Guardrail surfaces must not be able to injure an individual with punctures or cuts, and must not snag clothing.
• Wire rope guardrails – Top rails and midrails must be at least one-quarter inch (0.6 cm) nominal diameter or thickness to prevent cuts and lacerations. Wire rope used for guardrails in steel erection activities must be a half inch in diameter. If wire rope is used for top rails, it must be flagged at not more than six foot intervals with high-visibility material.

5.1.2   Safety Net Systems

• Safety net systems may only be used when guardrails, personal fall arrest, or positioning systems are not feasible and must include the following provisions. In Europe, legal requirements mandate that safety nets be used in lieu of personal fall arrest systems whenever practical to do so.

1. • Nets must be installed as close as possible under the working area, but in no case more than 9 m (30 feet) below it.
   • Nets must extend the following distances out from the work surface:
   • When the distance from the working level to the net is up to 1.5 m (5 feet), the net must extend 2.5 m (8 feet) from the edge of the working surface.
   • When the distance from the working level to the net is 1.5 m (5 feet) to 3 m (10 feet), the net must extend 3 m (10 feet) from the edge of the working surface.
   • When the distance from the working level to the net is more than 3 m (10 feet), the net must extend 4 m (13 feet) from the edge of the working surface.

• Safety nets must be drop-tested at the job site after they are installed and before they are used, whenever they are relocated or repaired, and at six month intervals if left in one place. The drop-test consists of dropping a 189 kg (400 lb.) bag of sand that is 700 mm (28 inches) to 800 mm (32 inches) in diameter into the net from the highest surface at which individuals work. The results must be documented and signed by the responsible person on site.
• Safety nets must be inspected at least once a week for wear, damage, and deterioration. Defective nets must not be used. The inspection results must be documented and signed by the responsible person on site.

5.1.3   Personal Fall Arrest Systems (an anchorage, connector, and body harness)

• Fall protection devices can be used only to protect individuals and never to hoist materials. In Europe, legal requirements mandate that personal fall arrest systems should only be used when guardrails or safety net systems are not feasible.

Note:  The use of body belts in personal fall arrest systems is prohibited. The purchase and/or use of non-locking snaphooks as part of personal fall arrest systems and positioning device systems is prohibited.

• Connectors used in fall arrest systems must be drop-forged, pressed, or formed steel. They must have a corrosion-resistant finish and their surfaces must be smooth.
• Dee-rings and snaphooks must have a minimum tensile strength of 22 kN (5,000 lb.) They must be proof-tested to a minimum tensile load of 16 kN (3,600 lb.) without cracking or breaking. The manufacturer or vendor can certify proof testing.
• Lanyards and vertical lifelines must have a minimum breaking strength of 22 kN (5,000 lb.) When vertical lifelines are used, each individual must be attached to a separate lifeline.
• Personal fall arrest systems must limit the arresting force on an individual to 8 kN (1,800 lb.) when used with a body harness. They must be designed so that an individual cannot free fall more than 2.0 m (6 feet).
• Personal fall arrest systems must be inspected:
• At least every twelve (12) months (or more frequently if required by the manufacturer) by a competent person and results of the inspection recorded.
• Prior to each use for wear, damage and deterioration, and defective components.
• Immediately following incidents where they have arrested a fall, been exposed to excessive heat, flame, or potentially degrading chemicals or any other event that could cause damage to the equipment.
• Personal fall arrest systems cannot be attached to guardrails or to hoists.
• A Personal Fall Arrest Stem must be attached to an anchor point so that the fall distance is not less than the fall distance designation on the fall arrest system.

Note:  Typically a shock absorbing lanyard requires up to 5.6 m (18.5 ft) fall distance to deploy. A self–retracting lanyard typically arrests a fall in less than 0.3 m (1 ft). Consult your equipment literature or manufacturer for specifications.

• Snaphooks must be of the locking type, designed and used to prevent disengagement of the snaphook by the contact of the snaphook keeper with the connected member. The purchase of non-locking snaphooks as part of personal fall arrest systems and positioning device systems is prohibited.
• Unless the snaphook is designed for the following connections, it must not be engaged:

1. • Directly to webbing, rope, or wire rope.
   • To each other.
   • To a dee-ring to which another snaphook or other connector is attached.
   • To a horizontal lifeline.
   • To any object which is incompatibly shaped or dimensioned in relation to the snaphook.

• The attachment point of the body harness must be located in the center of the wearer’s back near shoulder level, or above the wearer’s head.

Note:  Other connection points that are approved by the specific harness manufacturer for Fall Arrest connection points may be used.

• Personal fall arrest systems and components subjected to impact loading must be immediately removed from service and not be used again for protection until inspected and determined by a competent person to be undamaged and suitable for reuse.
• The site must provide for prompt rescue of people in the event of a fall or assure that they are able to rescue themselves.

5.1.4   Positioning Device Systems

• Positioning device systems must be set up so that an individual cannot free fall more than two feet. They must be secured to an anchorage capable of supporting at least twice the potential impact of an individual’s fall or 13 kN (3,000 lb.), whichever is the greater. They must be inspected before each use for wear, damage, and deterioration.

5.1.5   Warning Line Systems

• The use of warning line systems is limited to flat roofs and work platforms/surfaces.
• When warning lines are used, they must be set up around all sides of the roof work area.
• When mechanical equipment is not being used, the warning line must be at least 2.0 m (6 feet) from the roof edge.
• When mechanical equipment is being used, the line must be at least 2.0 m (6 feet) from the roof edge that is parallel to the direction in which the equipment is operating, and at least ten feet from the roof edge that is perpendicular to the direction in which the equipment is operating.
• Warning lines must be made of ropes, wires, or chains, and supporting stanchions.
• The rope, wire, or chain must be flagged at intervals of every 2.0 m (6 feet) or less.
• It must have a minimum tensile strength of 2.24 kN (500 lb.)
• The stanchions must be able to resist a force of at least 0.1 kN (16 lb.) applied horizontally against the stanchion, 760 mm (30 inches) above the work surface, perpendicular to the warning line, and in the direction of the work surface edge.
• No personnel are allowed in the area between a roof edge and a warning line unless the person is using fall protection

5.1.6   Safety Monitoring Systems

• Safety monitoring systems are used in conjunction with warning line systems. Safety monitoring is not required if any other types of fall protection systems are implemented.
• A person must designate to monitor the safety of other individuals. The safety monitor must comply with the following requirements:

1. • The safety monitor must be competent to recognize fall hazards.
   • The monitor must warn personnel when they are unaware of a fall hazard or are acting in an unsafe manner.
   • The monitor must be on the same working surface and within sight of the individuals being monitored.
   • The monitor must be close enough to be heard by the individuals on the working surface.
   • The monitor must not have other responsibilities that could affect the monitor’s attention.
   • No person can be allowed in the area protected by a safety monitor unless the person is using fall protection.

• Mechanical equipment must not be used or stored in areas where safety monitoring systems are being used to monitor personnel engaged in roofing operations on low-slope roofs.
• All personnel working in a controlled access zone must be directed to comply promptly with fall hazard warnings from safety monitors.

5.1.7   Covers

Covers for holes in floors, roofs, and other walking/working surfaces must meet the following requirements:

• Covers located in roadways and vehicular aisles must be capable of supporting, without failure, at least twice the maximum axle load of the largest vehicle expected to cross over the cover.
• All other covers must be capable of supporting, without failure, at least twice the weight of people, equipment, and materials that may be imposed on the cover at any one time.
• All covers must be secured when installed so as to prevent accidental displacement by the wind, equipment, or personnel.
• All covers must be color coded or marked with the word “HOLE” or “COVER” to provide warning of the hazard. Note: This provision does not apply to cast iron manhole covers or steel grates used on streets or roadways.

5.2      Protection From Falling Objects

• When toe boards are used as falling object protection, they must be erected along the edge of the overhead working surface at a distance great enough to protect people below. The height of the toe board must be in accordance with local regulations [150 mm (6 inches)] in Europe and 4 inches nominal (3.5 inches) in US. Toe boards must be able to withstand a force of at least 0.22 kN (50 lb.)
• When guardrail systems are used as falling object protection, all openings in the guardrails must be small enough to prevent falling objects from passing through.
• During bricklaying, no materials or equipment, other than masonry and mortar, may be stored within four feet of the working edge. During roofing work, materials and equipment may not be stored within 2 m (6 feet) of a roof edge unless guardrails are erected.
• Signs should be posted specifically warning of overhead working and the risk of falling objects in the area below the elevated working surface.

5.3      Fall Protection Plan

The fall protection plan is required if it is determined that it is impossible or creates a greater hazard to use fall protection equipment.

A fall protection plan must meet the following requirements:

• • The plan must be prepared by a competent person and developed for the specific site where it will be used. Changes to the plan must be approved by a qualified person.
  • A copy of the plan must be kept at the job site.
  • A competent person must supervise implementation of the plan.
  • The plan must list the reasons why and where conventional fall protection systems will not work.
  • The plan must discuss the measures that will be taken to reduce the fall hazard for personnel who are not using conventional fall protection measures.
  • The plan must be approved by the site manager.
  • If there is fall related incident or near miss, management must investigate the incident to determine if the plan needs to be changed.

5.4      Training

• A training program is required for all personnel exposed to fall hazards. The program must train personnel to recognize fall hazards, to use protective procedures, and validate that participants can properly used personal fall arrest equipment and systems.
• All affected personnel must be trained by a competent person to use the fall protection equipment.
• Management must verify that each employee/contractor has received training. Training must be documented in LSO or an equivalent system that includes the trainee’s name, the date of training, and the name of the trainer.

5.5      Retraining

Site management is responsible to retrain any affected, trained employee if there is any reason to believe that the individual does not possess the understanding and skill required by this section. Circumstances where retraining is required include, but are not limited to, situations where:

• • Changes in the workplace render previous training obsolete.
  • Changes in the types of fall protection systems or equipment to be used render previous training obsolete.
  • Inadequacies in an affected employee’s knowledge or use of fall protection systems or equipment indicate that the employee has not retained the requisite understanding or skill.

Retraining is required at least every five years.

RELATED INFORMATION

25-010522 and 4WCE-600501	Manbaskets
25-010540	Scaffolding
25-010543	Ladder Safety
25-010561	Mobile Elevating Work Platforms
24-020521	Fall Protection (Volume 2 – EHS Training Requirements)

Appendix A

Specified Fall Protection Areas

• Permanent walking/working surfaces that are four feet or more above another surface must be protected by guard rails.
• Unprotected sides and edges. An individual who must walk or work where there is an unprotected ledge that is 2 meters (6 feet) or more above a lower level must be protected from falling by installing guardrail systems, personal fall arrest systems, or safety net systems
• Hoist areas. Each individual in a hoist area must be protected from falling 2 m (6 feet) or more by either a guardrail system or personal fall arrest system.
• Holes. Individuals must be protected from falling more than 2 m (6 feet) through holes by personal fall arrest systems, covers, or guardrail systems built around the holes. People must also be protected from tripping or falling into holes by using covers.
• Formwork. An individual on the face of formwork or reinforcing steel must be protected from falling 2 m (6 feet) or more by personal fall arrest systems, safety net systems, or positioning device systems.
• Ramps and other walkways. Each individual on ramps and other walkways must be protected from falling 2 m (6 feet) or more by a guardrail system.
• Excavations. An individual at the edge of an excavation of 2 m (6 feet) or more deep must be protected by a guardrail system, fences, or barricades when the excavations are not easily visible. An individual at the edge of a well, pit, or shaft more than 2 m (6 feet) deep must be protected by guardrails, fences, barricades, covers, or a personal fall arrest or restraint system attached to a horizontal life line or anchor points erected along the excavation edge.
• Dangerous equipment, for example, open tanks, machinery, electrical equipment. An individual working less than 2 meters (6 feet) above dangerous equipment must be protected from falling on the equipment either by guardrails or equipment guards. An individual who works 2 m (6 feet) or more above dangerous equipment must be protected by a guardrail system, personal fall arrest system, or safety net system.
• Overhand bricklaying. Each individual doing overhand bricklaying and related work 2 m (6 feet) or more above a lower level must be protected by a guardrail system, safety net system, personal fall arrest system, or work in a controlled access zone. An individual reaching down more than 250 mm (10 inches) below the walking or working surface must be protected by a guardrail, safety net system, or personal fall arrest system.
• Roofing work on low-slope roofs. An individual working on roofing with unprotected sides and edges 2 m (6 feet) or more above the lower level must be protected by a guardrail system, safety net system, personal fall arrest system, or a combination of warning line systems and guardrails, warning line systems and safety net systems, warning line systems and personal fall arrest systems, or warning line systems and safety monitoring systems.
• Steep roofs. An individual on a steep roof with unprotected sides and edges 2 m (6 feet) or more above lower levels must be protected by guardrails with toe boards, a safety net system, or a personal fall arrest system.
• Wall openings. An individual working near wall openings where the outside bottom edge of the opening is 2 m (6 feet) or more above the lower level and the inside bottom edge of the wall opening is less than 1 m (39 inches) above the working surface, the individual must be protected by guardrails, a safety net system, or a personal fall arrest system.
• Crane Baskets for Lifting Personnel, Suspended Scaffold, Aerial Lifts. An individual working in or on this equipment must be protected from falls by a personal fall arrest system.