Watch the video on Personal Fall Arrest Systems.
Falling accounts for about a third of fatalities on residential construction sites. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, falls from roofs, scaffolds, and concrete structures killed nearly 445 construction workers in 2004. A construction site is strewn with dangers related to falling, from unsteady scaffolds to protruding steel rebar to openings in the roof.
Construction managers need to recognize these risks and take precautions to ensure the safety of employees and trades on their jobsites. A personal fall arrest system, or PFAS, is one effective way workers can protect themselves. A PFAS consists of a full body harness that workers fasten with a lanyard to a secure anchorage to keep them from falling from a height of more than 6 feet. To be effective, the webbing in the body harness should be made from synthetic fibers and be free of cuts and abrasions. The anchorage points should be able to withstand 5,000 pounds without breaking.
Here are common situations where workers are at a high risk of falling:
- Excavations. Workers can be injured if they fall into excavations, which typically contain reinforcing steel. They can be injured by the fall and impaled by the reinforcing steel. Workers risk falling when they use unguarded, makeshift walkways across trenches or other excavations.
- Heights. Workers are at risk of falling from roofs and floors with open sides and edges, or on framed, concrete, or block walls.
- Openings. Workers can fall out of openings, such as windows openings, roof openings made for skylights and dormers and unmarked stairwell openings made for stairs leading to lower levels.
- Dangerous work. Anyone doing work that increases their risk of falling, such as framing over a leading edge or overhand bricklaying from a scaffold, is at a high risk of falling. Framers can fall from unguarded walkways and from the open sides of the flooring while they're working on a leading edge during framing or formwork or erecting exterior walls.
The Occupational and Health Administration (OSHA) requires that each PFAS be routinely inspected before each use by a person who is qualified to identify hazards and take prompt corrective measures. A qualified person should check for frayed edges, cuts, breaks or chemical damage in the harness belt and lanyard. Workers should also be aware of the effects of heat and chemicals on a PFAS and avoid damaging them. Direct sunlight can make nylon brittle and weaken materials. If paint dries on lanyard fibers, it will limit their movement, and thus the effectiveness of a PFAS. To maintain PFAS, store them in a clean, dry area, where they won't be exposed to corrosive chemicals or fumes. Keep each PFAS away from excessive heat, and regularly wipe them clean with a sponge soaked in a mild solution of soap and water. Maintaining a PFAS and inspecting it regularly helps to ensure the ability to protect workers.
Often it isn't faulty equipment but inadequate training that puts workers at risk. One of the reasons falling accidents occur frequently is that workers haven't received proper training in how to use a PFAS. Builders can take advantage of training programs offered by OSHA and by private companies that specialize in fall protection and require that their employees and trade partners receive training. If workers can detect falling hazards, recognize the situations in which they should wear fall protection, and properly use and inspect a PFAS, they can reduce their risks of falling and seriously injuring themselves on a jobsite.
For more PFAS information, visit:
www.osha.gov/SLTC/constructionfallprotection/index.html
www.osha.gov/Region7/fallprotection/fall_protection_info.html
www.cdc.gov/niosh/injury/traumastruct.html
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