Fall protection continues to hold the No. 1 spot on the OSHA Top 10 violations list—surpassing hazard communication violations by a margin of 40 percent. Here’s what else safety chiefs need to know.
When the U.S. government revealed its updated list of most-cited safety violations for fiscal 2019, there was good news in that total citations on its top 10 list had dropped 15 percent since the previous year.
What hasn’t changed is that fall protection continues to be a tough safety challenge.
For the ninth consecutive year, fall protection sits as the No. 1 most-violated standard, based on citations issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration during the past year—far outpacing violations for the other nine standards on the list and edging toward two-to-one over hazard communication at No. 2.
When it comes to fall protection in metalworking and manufacturing facilities, “commonsense often is not common,” says MSC Safety Specialist Damon Cassell.
How to Avoid 2019’s Top OSHA Violation: Fall Protection
To reduce fall incidents and violations, businesses need to adopt the zero-tolerance practices common within the gas and utility industry, Cassell recommends.
“If you’re dangerous, they will walk you right off the property,” he says.
The culprit is often the technical nature of both the fall safety gear itself and applying the OSHA standard’s rules, Cassell says. “In the safety world, if it’s difficult, people are a lot less likely to do it.”
For instance, depending on the environment, it’s not uncommon for a worker to have to run five or six calculations while scaling equipment on a plant floor.
Safety teams need to do a couple of things to make fall safety easier and more likely to be adopted, Cassell advises. First, simplify its use: Avoid multiple calculations whenever possible, and provide signage and training so workers can quickly determine required lanyard lengths.
“Make sure the fall distance is not shorter than your lanyard because you’re going to hit the ground. Also, make sure you tie off,” Cassell says. “I can’t tell you how many times I have seen people with all this gear on not tie off to the right lanyard or anchor.”
Safety culture is a factor here too. The harnesses and gear can be unwieldy to wear—particularly when a worker first becomes certified to use a harness, he points out.
Training and setting expectations can help overcome wear issues and encourage workers to never put themselves in harm’s way, Cassell says. “If you mess up, it’s likely you will die.”
