Protecting Your Employees from Falls

Staying up-to-date on information regarding fall protection for your employees is one of the most important things you can do as an employer. Preventing any work-related falls is key to avoiding any grief or difficulty for both parties. As an employer, there are a number of things you are responsible for in terms of creating and maintaining a safe workplace.

Employers are required by law to:

• Foster working conditions that are essentially free of all known dangers
• Maintain clean floors in work spaces and keep them as dry as possible
• Provide employees with personal safety equipment at no cost to them
• Ensure thorough safety and hazard training in a language that your employees understand and comprehend

Employers are responsible for implementing any equipment necessary to create a safe work space for employees. This includes some of the following:

• Using a railing & toe-board or hole cover to guard any holes that workers may fall or walk into
• Providing any elevated and open-sided platform, floor, or runway with a guardrail and toe-board
• Providing a guardrail and toe-board to any area with dangerous machinery or equipment (e.g. a vat of acid or conveyer belt)
• Being aware of special working conditions that require extra safety equipment such as nets, harnesses, and stair or hand rails

Overall, it is important for employers to assess all risks that their employees are exposed to and protect them from the possibility of a fall. OSHA requires that fall protection be provided at elevations of four feet in general industry workplaces, five feet in shipyards, six feet in the construction industry and eight feet in longshoring operations. In addition, OSHA requires that fall protection be provided when working over dangerous equipment and machinery, regardless of the fall distance.

For information on fall protection, fall safety training, and procedures, please visit FallSafety.com where safety is #1.