BECAUSE BAD THINGS CAN HAPPEN IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE

THE CRITICAL NATURE OF .3 SECONDS AS IT RELATES TO FALL PROTECTION AND WHY A LIGHTHOUSE SAFETY FALL HAZARD ASSESSMENT SHOULD BE IN YOUR NEAR FUTURE

 by Brent Rehberg

 Whether it’s a part of your daily routine, an infrequent task or an unanticipated repair, working-at-height without adequate safety procedures, controls, and/or training can be dangerous work for anyone needing to access heights to get their job done.

According to the US Department of Labor, falls from elevations are among the leading causes of work-related trauma injuries. In many of these cases, fall protection was required by regulation but was not implemented, was used improperly, or the equipment failed. In 2017 OSHA issued its final rule for the update to the Walking/Working standards for the first time in many years and some 112,000,000 workers have been affected. OSHA estimates these changes will prevent 29 fatalities and 5,842 lost-workday injuries every year. However, it is still up to the employers to implement protocols and provide equipment to ensure workers are safe and protected.

Despite the regulatory requirements and an increased awareness that falls cause injury or death…“Fall Protection” somehow manages to make OSHA’s Top 10 Most Cited Violations year after year. In 2019 there were a total of 7,014 violations related to the general Walking/Working surface requirements (standard 1926.501). This code outlines where fall protection is required, which systems are appropriate for given situations, the proper construction and installation of safety systems, and the proper supervision of employees to prevent falls. 5,677 of these violations were classified as “serious” or “one in which there is a substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result, and the employer knew or should have known of the hazard.” 164 of which were classified as “willful” or “committed with an intentional disregard of or plain indifference to the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and requirements.” These requirements are put in place to protect workers and should not be ignored, doing so can have dire consequences for not only workers, but also your business.

Defining Work-at-Height

“At Height” is commonly understood as any place where, if precautions were not taken, a person could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury. This could be any place work is conducted at, above or below ground or a lower level, where it’s possible to fall through an opening or over an edge. OSHA requires fall protection for any work that is done at a height change over 4 feet for General Industry (29 CFR 1910.140) and 6 feet in Construction (29 CFR 1926.502) or above any hazardous equipment or machinery regardless of the distance (there are also requirements at 5 feet in Shipyards and 8 feet in Longshore Operations).

The bottom line on this is: work doesn’t have to be conducted on a 40-story skyscraper or a Ferris wheel to be dangerous. In fact, many work-at-height injuries and fatalities occur at lower heights. According to a US Labor and Statistics report, there were 17,110 injuries requiring days away from work and 141 fatalities, at 15 ft or below. However, a fall from the top of a common step ladder could be devastating or life changing. Falls from just 4 feet can break bones or involve concussions and other head trauma resulting in injuries that can be difficult to recover from, make it hard for a person to get around, function in everyday activities, or in some rare instances result in a fatality. 

Height is Only One Part of the Story

There is a bad joke that goes: "It's not the fall that kills you; it's the sudden stop at the end." While it is true that a person can survive an unprotected fall from a 40-story building but most certainly the landing would be lethal, it is the velocity of the impact that plays the largest roll in the survivability. Many other variables influence the outcome of an unprotected free fall including the surface of the landing area, obstacles along or at the end of the fall path, the age and gender of the person falling and the most unpredictable of all outliers…how lucky they are. However, as the adage goes “speed kills”.

Speed, and more specifically, our Reaction Time, is a part of the fall equation that is rarely talked about. According to OSHA, it takes a person about 0.3 seconds (or about the same amount of time it takes to blink an eye) to realize they are falling, then another 0.3 seconds to react. A person free falling just 0.6 seconds will travel a distance of 5.8 feet (depending on air resistance). While other conditions affect this, including the angle of the fall, in just .06 seconds, you will be moving at a velocity of about 19.3 feet per second and cruising at 13 miles per hour. In a fraction of a second and a matter of feet…lives and livelihoods can be changed, quite literally, in the blink of an eye. The tragedy lies in how easy it is to provide fall protection and prevention.

The Best Form of Fall Protection

There are a number of ways safe and compliant fall protection can be provided. From sophisticated custom-engineered Rigid Lifeline systems, Overhead cable-based solutions to Guardrail, PPE and training. However, the absolute best form of fall protection is achieved by eliminating the need to work at height in the first place. People are surprised that Lighthouse Safety, a fall protection system designer/installer, recommends alternatives to systems, but we do, every day. When and if eliminating the risk is an option, Lighthouse Safety informs its prospective customer. When and if eliminating the risk is not an option, a Fall Protection Specialist leads a team effort to evaluate the best method of preventing the fall which can look like restricting the worker, decelerating and arresting a fall, and/or implementing Administrative Controls and in many situations, a combination of several methods.

Evaluating Risks and Hazards

Inviting a Competent Person in Fall Protection to conduct an onsite visit is the best place to start. The Lighthouse Safety process is comprehensive and involves meeting our customer and walking their site. We take a personal approach to gaining an understanding of operations. From conducting a workflow risk analysis where we document worker tasks and routines, evaluate and inspect any existing safety equipment, systems or procedures. Then we note the points of access, capture environmental factors, and more, all in order to identify risks and hazards and draw out any compliancy issues. Then we rank Fall Hazards according to frequency, risk of falling and severity of injury. Finally, we present plans to get you compliant and keep your workers safe. Simple right? 

Why You Should Have Lighthouse Safety in Your Corner?

Fall Protection has been Lighthouse Safety’s passion for over 25 years. Our leadership in the field of fall protection is indisputable, we have trained OSHA & the United States Air Force and have been an active voting member of the ANSI Z359 committee since 2006. We provide informed access to the most innovative products and training in fall prevention, rescue and confined space entry. We’ve designed, installed, inspected, repaired or replaced more systems than we can count. So, whether you need an answer to a question, a source for fall protection equipment and safety products, or systems designed, engineered, inspected, repaired or replaced…. if Lighthouse Safety can’t help you, no one can. If we don’t have a solution, one does not exist.

Brent Rehberg

Appleton WI 54915

Mobile (920) 850-9271

Email : [email protected]

Corporate Office

3620 North 126th Street – Brookfield, WI 53005

Office (262) 790-1155 x 866 

Fax (262) 783-6211

www.lighthousesafety.com

One of our Fall Protection Specialists will visit your facility and do a thorough assessment of all the fall exposures at your site. An accurate quote is provided along with a minimum of two solutions for each exposure.

For more about these services go to: https://www.lighthousesafety.com/fall-protection-services/hazard-assessments/