Construction Fall Protection Training
With the exception of motor vehicle accidents, falls are the single biggest cause of occupational death and injury in the United States.
According to the National Safety Council, hundreds of workers die each year from injuries caused by falls.
Falls pose a particularly severe hazard in the construction industry, accounting for the greatest number of deaths year after year. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reports that approximately one-third of all deaths are due to falls.
A body in a free fall can cover distance very quickly.
Consider these facts:
In just... A body can fall...
0.5 seconds 4 feet
1.0 seconds 16 feet
1.5 seconds 36 feet
2.0 seconds 64 feet
In addition to the deaths and injuries caused by falls, there are also high costs. When falls occur on the jobsite, workers’ compensation, disability, medical, rehabilitation, retraining and supervisory time all add up quickly.
To keep employees safe and to avoid these costs, it’s important for employers to know about fall protection. Fall protection involves understanding workplace hazards and how to protect employees working in areas where falls are possible. In addition, all employees should understand fall hazards and fall protection systems and know what to do when falls occur. Understanding as well as providing fall protection will help you maintain a safe environment for everyone at your jobsite.
The Blueprints for Safety© Construction Fall Protection Program is designed to provide a step-by-step approach to developing a construction fall protection program for your company. This program will help you understand fall hazards, select and provide fall protection systems and train employees to understand how to work in ways that will protect them from falls.
The outcomes of your fall protection program will be as follow:
- Identification of the potential fall hazards in the job activities in your workplace
- Selection and use of proper fall protection systems
- Well-trained employees who know how to protect themselves from falls
By creating a program for fall protection in your workplace, you can help increase employees’ safety by ensuring that they understand the importance of working safely in areas where falls may occur. In addition, you can control the costs associated with falls.
