Page 36 - OHS, FebruaryMarch 2023

FALL PROTECTION Growing a ‘Culture of Safety’ Mindset What are the practices and standards that organizations should prioritize when protecting those working at height? An expert shares some insights. BY DAVID KOPF For 12 years in a row, fall protection has topped OSHA’s annual Top 10 Safety Violations. In 2022, fall protection led the rankings with 5,260 citations. For comparison, the number two ranking, hazard communication, trailed behind with 2,424 citations. But let’s be real: statistics only go so far when it comes to tabulating the essentially incalculable human cost of workplace falls. That’s why it’s critical that companies establish a culture of safety, according to Michael Tavis, who is the director of sales for the western United States and Canada at fall protection equipment maker FallTech. Tavis has been with FallTech for nearly eight years and has worked in construction for 30 years. Tavis is an engaged safety professional who has represented FallTech on ANSI’s national committee. When it comes to growing a culture of safety, Tavis says standards play a large role. He sat down with Occupational Health & Safety to discuss the topic at length. OH&S Magazine: Let’s start with a fundamental question. Why is fall protection safety important in so many industry environments, such as industrial, manufacturing environments, construction and oil & gas? Tavis: Falls remain the leading cause of death outside of transportation. When you’re looking at a job site, falls are the number one driver of fatalities in our industry. And if you look more broadly, after fall protection being the number one cause of death, then there are ladders, scaffolding and fall protection training. Those are four areas within OSHA’s Top 10 that are associated 36 Occupational Health & Safety | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2023 www.ohsonline.com Max4e Photo/Shutterstock.com A more comfortable employee is typically a safer employee. ... If you’re making sure that people are comfortable in what they do, they’re much more likely to use the product consistently. with individuals working at heights. ... So it’s clearly an issue that OSHA recognizes, and it’s something that we all work at trying to mitigate and improve. OH&S Magazine: While fall protection is clearly a concern, it’s fair to say that it’s often misunderstood. Why are falls a repeat problem, per OSHA’s Top 10, and why is fall protection misunderstood? Tavis: A lot of industries in our trade pay their employees by piece; they’re not hourly employees. So with regard to that, when you’re putting on safety equipment, it impedes productivity fundamentally because if you’re working safer, you’re typically going to be working a little more intentionally, a little slower, and the equipment itself may have restrictions on it. For example, if you connect an SRL to your body, you can’t walk as fast as if you’re not connected to an SRL. So, there are limitations with the equipment, and all of that impacts productivity. So, people can be resentful of the fact that using the safety equipment means they’re going to be working a bit slower, which in the end, can potentially cost them money. But what we take from that is to try and make the equipment as user friendly as possible and really focus on the user experience. We try and make our products as comfortable and usable as possible. So we spend a lot of time on the fitment of the product and doing our best not to impede productivity. OH&S Magazine: Knowing the importance of fall protection, what roles do the standards play in keeping workers safe? Tavis: OSHA is the statutory authority in the United States, so from the standpoint of occupational health and safety, OSHA is the enforcement authority, and ANSI would be considered best practices. There are scenarios where ANSI does work as an OSHA- like enforceable rule. That would be by letters of incorporation, or