Introduction
Employee safety in the workplace is one of the pivotal requirements of a well-functioning organization involved in industrial performance. The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has developed a set of regulations on fall protection and walking-working surfaces to raise hazard awareness and maximize safety. OSHA emphasizes employers’ obligation to train employees who use protective gear, which is regulated by the standard presented in Subpart D. The document outlines hazards most essential to avoid with guidelines on fall and injury prevention. This presentation will provide essential data to be used in employee training on the requirements and importance of the standard.
Hazard Identification in the Industrial Workplace
Given the numerous cases of noncompliance with safety regulations, OSHA demands employers’ obligation to detect hazards in the construction and industrial work sites. In particular, failures in fall protection measures have been listed among OSHA’s “top 10 most cited violations for most of the past decade” (Eckel, 2018, p. 1). Therefore, it is important to inform employees about possible hazards, and their risks, and train proper ways of workers’ hazard identification to reduce their exposure to identified threats leading to falls. Thus, walking-working surface standards’ regulations guide both employers and employees toward the successful prevention of falls and injuries.
The Necessity of Fall Protection
The prioritization of workers’ safety in industrial settings is one of the core principles followed by OSHA. Since there are multiple life- and health-threatening hazards in the industrial workplace, employees should be properly protected. The reason why the regulations of fall and walking-working surface protection are important is that a high rate of injuries and deaths occur due to improper protection. Indeed, “approximately 202,066 serious (lost-workday) injuries and 345 fatalities occur annually among workers directly affected by the final standard” (OSHA, n. d., p. 1). Therefore, the final rule and Walking-Working Surface standard provide a basis for guidelines in employee protection to save lives and ensure properly equipped and knowledgeable setting and staff.
The Walking-Working Surface Standard Overview
The Walking-working surface standard has been implemented by OSHA as a uniform regulation of fall protection and surface safety measures for organizations working in construction and industrial environments. In particular, this standard is addressed in OSHA’s Subpart D, where safety precautions are outlined with a focus on fall protection and walking and working surface safety (OSHA, 2017). The standard demands strict compliance with regulations, making employers responsible for implementing proper equipment and training to minimize exposure to hazards.
The Standard’s Fall Protection Requirements
The standard’s final rule requires employers to ensure that their workers are protected from fall risks using provided measures and equipment. In particular, the standard’s fall protection requirements include supplying proper protection in cases an employee is exposed to working “along unprotected sides or edges that are at least 4 feet above a lower level” (OSHA, n. d., p. 1). Furthermore, there are particular situations and circumstances that necessitate additional precautions in fall prevention. They include working in “hoist areas, runways, areas above dangerous equipment, wall openings, repair pits, stairways, scaffolds, and slaughtering platforms” (” (OSHA, n. d., p. 1). The employer is required to set measures for performance, checkups, and maintenance of personal fall protection systems.
Updates in Subpart D
The first change in the standard outlined in Subpart D is the allowance of using personal fall protection gear by employees working on sites with risks of falling. Prior to the update, “the primary method for preventing falls from elevation in the general industry was to install guardrails” (Hamel, 2018, p. 1). However, the changes to OSHA’s standard now allow for using alternative fall protection systems. Furthermore, subpart D “updated general industry standards addressing slip, trip, and fall hazards (Eckel, 2018, p. 1). Thus, workplace settings’ safety is being promoted by the new standard features.
The second change that characterizes the newly updated subpart D is related to the requirement of training and retraining of employees who use personal fall protection. In particular, the document holds that “before any employee is exposed to a fall hazard, the employer must provide training for each employee who uses personal fall protection systems” (OSHA, 2017, p. 12). Re-training should be implemented over time to ensure the consistency of improving and maintaining a proper level of workers’ knowledge and skills in fall protection use. Both training and retraining should be conducted by qualified individuals (OSHA, 2017). Employees must be knowledgeable in using and maintaining their protective gear.
Fall Hazards
The identification of fall hazards allows for the consecutive use of proper safety systems. Sides and edges considered hazardous should be equipped with safety nets and guardrails to prevent workers from falling (OSHA, n.d d.). Furthermore, holes and hoist areas are considered risky for employee falling and injuries, which is why proper general and personal protection is needed (OSHA, 2017). Similarly, dock boards, walkways, stairways, openings, and fixed ladders are the most hazardous areas on the construction or industrial site.
Personal Fall Protection Systems
As the newly implemented change to the standard implies, personal fall protection systems are an obligatory means of safety management in work in a dangerous setting, especially on heights. Specifically, “body belts, harnesses, and other components used in personal fall arrest systems work positioning systems, and travel restraint systems must meet the requirements” of the standard (OSHA, 2017, p. 12). In addition, safety net systems should be used to prevent workers from falling.
Safety Systems
Among the many safety systems used to protect workers from falls, the guardrail system is an effective barrier used along the hazardous edges on walking-working surfaces. According to OSHA (2017), “Guardrail systems are capable of withstanding, without failure, a force of at least 200 pounds (890 N) applied in a downward or outward direction within 2 inches (5 cm) of the top edge” (p. 7). Safety net systems are also used in the form of horizontal or semi-horizontal netting along the edges of a hazardous area to catch a falling employee (OSHA, n. d.).
In addition, a positioning system is used to support a worker by a combination of connectors attached to a body harness or a body belt. It allows for supporting one on an elevated vertical surface (OSHA, n. d.). Similarly, a travel restrain system is a combination of anchorage, connectors, and lanyards attached to body harnesses to eliminate a chance of falling (OSHA, n. d.).
Ladder Safety Systems
One of the aspects of fall protection issues addressed by subpart D is the use of ladder safety systems. Indeed, fixed ladder use is considered a fall hazard at construction or industry sites. Multiple cases of injuries and fatalities caused by falls from ladders due to failures of proper protection necessitate stricter requirements. For that matter, OSHA (2017) necessitates the obligatory use of fixed ladders, cages, or wells as a precaution. However, research shows that ladder cages do not make falls safer but only complicate injuries (Eckel, 2018, p. 1). Therefore, the personal fall arrest system is obligatory whenever using fixed ladders by employees.
Protection from Falling Objects
Falling objects are another significant hazard that must be addressed by proper use of head protection and the installation of toeboards and screens along the edges of elevated areas (OSHA, 2017). Furthermore, barricading areas for falling should be initiated to eliminate falling objects to a lower level. Experts note that one of the prospective ways to prevent objects from falling is securing tools at height (Eckel, 2018).
Conclusion
In summation, OSHA prioritizes employee safety, especially in workplace sites characterized by numerous hazards. Fall protection improvement is one of the highlights of Subpart D, which is a new standard of walking-working surface safety. It emphasizes employee training’s importance in ensuring the facilitation of safe environments in the construction and industry workplace.
References
Eckel, J. (2018). Update training on OSHA’s new fall protection rules: Focus on walking surfaces and fixed ladders. Industrial Safety & Hygiene News, 52(9), 1-2.
Hamel, K. (2018). Fall protection beyond construction: Complying with OSHA’s walking-working surface standard. Industrial Safety & Hygiene News, 52(10), 1-2.
OSHA. (2017). OSHA – 29CFR 1910 Subpart D – Walking-working surfaces. Web.
OSHA. (n. d.). OSHA’s final rule to update, align, and provide greater flexibility in its general industry walking-working surfaces and fall protection standards. Web.