Following is a video for residential contractors regarding the requirements to follow fall protection rules in the OSHA standards. OSHA is very active trying to get the residential contractors on board to follow fall protection rules and most are not doing it. In fact, many contractors are ignoring the rules even though they are well aware that fall protection must be followed. OSHA's educational outreach is the carrot approach and appears to be failing. 

Looking at the enforcement activity on the OSHA website one can easily see that enforcement is leading to hundreds of contractors being cited for failure to follow the rules.

In a fall protection training last week a contractor said he only came because he was visited by OSHA for failure to have fall protection. He told me he had men on the roof with no harnesses and ladders were not set three feet over the roof edge. Now he is waiting to see what he will be cited for and the hoping the fines are not to big. He is waiting for the stick! 

Last week was Fall Protection Stand Down week. Some contractors held a safety meeting on fall protection. But in an unscientific poll I took with contractors only two were willing to participate. 

Unfortunately, the apathy amongst contractors is rampant and it appears that the only thing that will get more contractors to follow the required fall protection rules will be citations and fines. The honeymoon period of OSHA hoping contractors will follow the rules is over. The last tool OSHA has to use is the stick. I am providing this video so you can see for yourself right from the horse's mouth, what you must do to protect your workers and follow the OSHA rules.

Ignoring fall protection compliance comes with the great peril that some one can get hurt and that you will be cited and fined.

One last note; if you hire subcontractors like roofers, painters, siders, framers, gutter installers make sure you obtain their written fall protection plan in their safety manual and certification of training for all of their men who work on the project. Then make sure they use fall protection. If you do not and they are caught on your job site working unsafe, you the General Contractor, can be fined under the Multiple Employer Citation Policy. Hiring a non-compliant sub is like putting a sign out on your job that says;

OSHA LOOK HERE NO FALL PROTECTION COME FINE ME!

Video From OSHA; David Michaels