OSHA has stepped up its enforcement of fall protection on the construction industry (see press releases below). Every week there are reports of contractors penalized for not following the required standards set forth by the OSHA Fall Protection standards. The OSHA standard went into to full effect on 9/16/2011. Contractors must train their workers.  Here is slide of OSHA Most Cited violations followed by a brief description of the OSHA Fall Protection Standard;

All contractors who employ workers and work 6 feet above any level must protect workers from fall hazards. Contractors must use guard rails, safety nets and/or fall arrest systems. Contractors must have a written safety plan and must train workers on how to recognize fall hazards, how to use the required safety equipment and contractors must document the training the workers have received. In the event a contractor cannot use one of the three required safety equipment the contractor must have a site specific written plan. This plan must describe how you will protect your workers. (Note; general contractors are responsible to make sure subcontractors are following the standards. If a sub is not following OSHA standards on a contractor's job, the contractor can also be fined with them.) OSHA says infeasibility is not acceptable to not use fall protection. Lastly the training that the workers have received must be effective. In other words you must verify that the training received is understood and part of the behavior of the worker. If you discover that a worker is not following the training then the contractor must retrain the worker.

Safety Manual Development

One way to protect your business and develop your safety program is to create a E H Safety Manual for your company and also require that your subs do the same. OSHA requires that all employers have a safety manual that documents the safety standards used and trained by the company. (See our Safety Manual Workshop page)

Recent OSHA Fall Protection Contractor Enforcement Press Releases

Wilmington, Mass Contractor $137,000             Connecticut  $127,560      

New Jersey $110,000

New York  $58,000                Texas $143,880        New York  $127,000

New York                      Mass $180,100                Rhode Island $72,900

fall protection training

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