Day 3 National Stand-Down for Fall Protection. Portable Ladder Safety.

Day 1 and 2 dealt with the Hierarchy of Controls, Inspection, and the ABC’s of Fall Protection.  Day 3 is Ladder Safety.  Recently I did a ladder safety class for a client and brought my own ladders.  On the way home I picked up my daughter who was 3-years old at the time.  She asked why I had ladders in my truck.  I told her I was teaching people how to safely climb ladders.  She then said “People really don’t know how to use ladders?”  It surprised her but it also surprises many people that their employees do not know how to use ladders.  

Some general rules on ladders:...

Day 2 National Fall Protection Stand-Down

ABCs of Fall Protection and Equipment Inspection

Yesterday we wrote about the Fall Protection Hierarchy of Controls.  That is eliminate the hazard before you need to implement further controls.  For Day 2 we will assume that you determined you need to wear fall protection or a fall restraint system.  Both systems have the same inspection requirements.  For a review each system has:

·     An anchorage connector.  What you use to connect to an anchorage point.

o  Note: Anchorage points need to meet a 5000 lb. limit for fall protection and 3000 lb. limit for fall restraint; or double the...

May 6, 2019

Welcome to Day 1 of the “National Safety Stand-Down To prevent Falls in Construction”.  Every year the industry sets aside a week to raise awareness of fall hazards in the workplace in an effort to stop fall fatalities and injuries.  In 2017 (the last year data is available) 366 of 971 construction fatalities were falls. 

An easy way to have a “Stand-Down” is to set aside your normal weekly safety meeting and dedicate it to preventing falls in your workplace.  If you don’t have a weekly safety meeting, do a lunch or coffee break meeting, or a meeting before work.  Watch a Youtube™ video like Miller’s Fall Protection Road Show. &...