Fall Protection Training • Regulation 29 CFR 1926.503

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Falls cause more deaths in construction than any other hazard. Hundreds of workers die from falls each year. Many construction workers perform tasks at a height that requires protection from fall hazards. Having a serious injury or death occur at work affects everyone at a worksite. A fall can occur in a split second without any time for the worker to react. Deaths from falls can be prevented by training all workers to recognize hazards and to use fall protection equipment correctly, along with providing that equipment and planning to get the job done safely.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recommends that fall prevention training should take place in short sessions. The agency provides Toolbox Talks that should last approximately 5-10 minutes. Additionally, sessions should be participatory. When workers attending a training session/Toolbox Talk are able to ask questions and discuss the topic, it increases the likelihood they will remember the information. As with other work hazards, workers should be trained in a language they understand.

Enforcement from October 2022 through September 2023:

ABOUT THE STANDARD

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Employers must train all employees who might be exposed to fall hazards. The training program must include hazard recognition and ways to minimize or eliminate workplace fall hazards. The training must be done by a competent person who is qualified to teach:

• The correct procedures for erecting, maintaining, disassembling, and inspecting the fall protection systems to be used.
• The use and operation of guardrail systems, personal fall arrest systems, safety net systems, warning line systems, safety monitoring systems, controlled access zones, and other protection to be used.
• The role of each employee in the safety monitoring system when this system is used.
• The limitations on the use of mechanical equipment during the performance of roofing work on low-sloped roofs.
• The correct procedures for the handling and storage of equipment and materials and the erection of overhead protection.
• The role of employees in fall protection plans.

Conducting training isn’t sufficient for compliance with the standard. The employer must keep a written certification record that lists the names of trainees, the dates they received training and the signature of the trainer or employer. If the employer relies on training conducted by another employer or completed prior to the effective date in the record, the certification record shall indicate the date the employer determined the prior training was adequate rather than the date of actual training.

If an employee has received training but the employer has reason to believe that they do not have adequate understanding of fall hazard recognition and fall prevention procedures, the employer must retrain that employee. Circumstances where retraining is required include:

• Changes in the workplace that render previous training obsolete
• Changes in the types of fall protection systems or equipment used
• 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

KEEPING WORKERS SAFE

In addition to training workers on the proper use of fall protection equipment, construction industry falls can be prevented by training and assigning a person to inspect fall protection equipment before each use. Other measures include ensuring the correct anchorage for fall arrest systems; extending the side rails of the ladder 3 feet above a roof edge; using a “buddy system” when working at heights and monitoring weather conditions.

Many of construction industry fatalities caused by falls involve roofs. Some factors that contribute to that are: worker inexperience or lack of training; a lack of a fall protection program or a personal fall arrest system; failure to use personal fall protection; an incorrect fall arrest system anchorage method; a lack of a fall arrest system lanyard connection point; incorrect working length of a fall arrest system lifeline; working alone when working at elevations and working during inclement weather, such as wind or heavy rain.

Resources

Fall Prevention Training Guide: A Lesson Plan for Employers: https://bit.ly/3YIs2F5

Prevent Construction Falls from Roofs, Ladders & Scaffolds: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2019-128/pdfs/2019-128Revised112019.pdf WMHS