Page 27 - Occupational Health & Safety, July 2017

ods listed in the standard are feasible or if they present a greater hazard, employers must establish why the methods are not feasible and develop a fall protection plan that is compliant with the OSHA construction standards for fall protection planning and training.
The duty to have fall protection now also encompasses employ- ees who may be injured from an object falling from heights [29 CFR 1910.28(c)]. When this hazard is present, employees must be provided with head protection. Employers must further protect workers by using toeboards, screens, guardrails, or canopies to pre- vent falling objects from injuring anyone working on a lower level. If these methods are not feasible, areas can be barricaded to prevent access to the area.
Training
All employees who are exposed to fall from height hazards or who will use personal fall protection systems must receive train- ing prior to their exposure to a fall hazard (29 CFR 1910.30). The training rule is performance based and, in most cases, mirrors the training requirements in the construction fall protection stan- dard (29 CFR 1226.502).
It is OSHA’s belief that effective employee training is “one of the most critical steps employers can take to prevent employee injuries and fatalities.” To be effective, OSHA requires a number of criteria to be met, including the need for training to be under- standable [29 CFR 1910.30(d)]. This means that no matter what training method is used—classroom, hands-on, video, computer- based, or any other method—the employee must be able to com- prehend what is being taught, regardless of barriers such as lan- guage or the inability to read.
Employees must be taught how to recognize fall hazards and what procedures are to be followed to minimize those hazards. When personal fall protection systems are used, the correct use, installation, inspection, operating, maintenance, and disassembly procedures must be taught. This includes functions such as hook- ing-up, anchoring, tie-off techniques, and equipment storage.
Training does not need to be site specific, but it must address the actual types of fall hazards that employees may encounter, as well as the plans, procedures, and practices that need to be followed to prevent incidents. To help ensure this, training must be conduct- ed by a qualified person who has “a recognized degree, certificate, or professional standing, or who by extensive knowledge, training, and experience has successfully demonstrated the ability to solve or resolve problems relating to the subject matter, the work, or the project” [29 CFR 1910.21(b)].
If an employer has reason to believe that an employee has not understood training or cannot correctly demonstrate the skills that are required to protect him from a fall hazard, he must be retrained. Retraining is also required when there are changes in the work- place or to a fall protection system [29 CRR 1910.30(c)].
Falls continue to be a leading cause of workplace injuries and deaths. Recognizing fall hazards, establishing plans and procedures to protect against falls, and providing effective training are proven ways to help prevent incidents and improve workplace safety.
Karen D. Hamel, CSP, WACH, is a regulatory compliance profes- sional, trainer and technical writer for New Pig. She can be reached at 1-800-HOT-HOGS® (468-4647) or by email, karenh@newpig.com.
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