The employer of two workers who died while working on a freeway overpass has been cited by OSHA for four safety violations. R.R. Dawson Bridge Co. LLC exposed workers to fall hazards, failed to provide employees working near the bridge's edge with required fall protection and failed to inspect employee fall arrest systems before use, according to OSHA investigators.
Fall protection (1926.501) was the most frequently-cited OSHA standard in fiscal year 2013 – specially the period October 2012 through September 2013. OSHA conducted 7,900 inspections involving the fall protection standards, a very high number compared to almost any other agency rule, and due to the fact OSHA devotes about half of its inspections to construction sites.
Ensure that personal fall arrest systems will, when stopping a fall: Limit maximum arresting force to 1,800 pounds. Be rigged such that an employee can neither free fall more than 6 feet nor contact any lower level. Bring an employee to a complete stop and limit maximum deceleration distance to 3½ feet.
Wind turbines generate electricity from wind, and are being manufactured and installed all across the nation. Wind energy employers need to protect their workers from workplace hazards and workers should be engaged in workplace safety and health and need to understand how to protect themselves from these hazards.
The June 2-6, 2014 National Safety Stand-Down was a resounding success, according to the Center for Protection of Worker Rights (CPWR). Here are three case studies:
OSHA stresses in a fall prevention fact sheet that falls from roofs can be prevented. Here’s how: DO: • Wear a harness and always stay connected • Make sure your harness fits •Use guardrails or lifelines •Inspect all fall protection equipment before use •Guard or cover all holes, openings, and skylights
• Has the most suitable equipment been selected to ensure safety, including for access and evacuation? • Are ladders only used when other equipment is not justified in view of the short length and low risk of the task? •Is the scaffold erected on a firm foundation?
According to OSHA, falls can be prevented and lives can be saved through three simple steps: plan, provide and train. OSHA has partnered with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) - Construction Sector on a widely publicized nationwide outreach campaign to raise awareness among workers and employers about common fall hazards in construction, and how falls from ladders, scaffolds and roofs can be prevented and lives can be saved.
Falls from heights are the most common cause of injury and death. Causes include: working on a scaffold or platform without guard rails or without a safety harness correctly attached; fragile roofs; and ladders that are badly maintained, positioned and secured.
