Not only are falls the most common cause of workplace fatalities in construction, but fall protection is continually the most common OSHA violation. One of the excuses for lack of fall protection that I hear the most is the lack of a proper spot for an anchorage point. Finding anchorage points can definitely be a struggle in certain circumstances, which is why I was intrigued when I found the Malta Dynamics Mobile Grabber recently.
Read more3M Issues Immediate Stop Use and Recall on DBI-SALA Nano-Lok edge and Wrap Back Self-Retracting Lifelines
Personal fall protection devices are extremely important to saving lives and preventing injuries due to falls on a jobsite. Half the battle is getting your team to wear harnesses, but when they do, you need to trust that the devices will work when they’re needed. 3M has recently issued an immediate stop use and product recall on two of their fall protection products.
Read moreProcore Announces 3 New FREE Safety Courses for Silica Dust, Confined Spaces, and Safety & Tech
Safety training in the construction industry is necessary to build worker awareness – not to mention that it’s legally required – but it can be extremely time consuming and expensive to have completed. There are many companies out there looking to make money off of keeping workers safe, which is why it’s great when a company offers training free of charge, like Procore’s Safety Qualified program.
Read moreHarness Hero is a Free App that Teaches Proper Personal Fall Protection Use
Falls continue to be the number one leading cause of death on construction sites across the country, accounting for around 40% each year. Even if you can convince your construction crew to wear personal fall arrest systems each time they’re required, proper training is required to select the correct type of fall protection and the anchor points, as well as performing proper inspections of the equipment. An app called Harness Hero is trying to help solve the latter problem.
Read moreOSHA Releases 7 Videos To Help Prevent Falls in Construction
Falls have long been the leading cause of fatalities in the construction industry, accounting for nearly 40% on an annual basis. Unsurprisingly, OSHA also issues the most citations for falls, and 2 different fall protection standards were on their top 10 most frequently cited violations list of 2018. To help build awareness and in an effort to reduce the number of deaths caused by falls, OSHA has released 6 videos and several other resources for employers.
In addition to the videos, posted below, OSHA has also announced that the 6th annual National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction will be held from May 6 to May 10th in 2019. That event encourages employers across the country to take some time out of their days to discuss the seriousness of fall protection.
A 24-page Fall Prevention Training Guide has also been released as part of their outreach program. It contains a roadmap for how and when to use fall prevention toolbox talks, as well as a variety of other useful information for training your employees.
Fact sheets for both ladders and scaffolding are available, as well. In the ladders category, extension ladders, job-made wooden ladders, and stepladders all have their own individual fact sheets. In the scaffolding category, narrow frame scaffolds, ladder jack scaffolds, and tube and coupler scaffolds all have their own individual fact sheets.
Now on to the videos. I’m a huge fan of videos, because I think providing visuals is hugely important for knowledge retention and many of us in the construction industry are visual learners.
Floor Openings
Skylights
Fixed Scaffolds
Bridge Decking
Reroofing
Leading Edge Work
5 Ways to Prevent Workplace Falls
How Can We Keep Construction Sites Safe From Fall Hazards?
[guest post] June is National Safety Month, and this week, the focus is on falls. As anyone who works in construction knows, this industry has some of the highest workplace accident and injury rates in the United States. The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) ranks falls as one of their Fatal Four most deadly type of construction accidents.
Read moreA Complete Guide to Fall Prevention
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, over 57,000 people were injured by a fall to a lower level on the job site in 2013, with the victims averaging 20 days missed of work. These types of injuries are extremely costly to employers and, more importantly, detrimental to the wellbeing of the victim.
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Last summer, Hilti announced that they had developed their first exoskeleton designed for construction tradespeople in a partnership with Ottobuck, a prosthetics, orthotics, and exoskeleton provider. Earlier this month, Hilti officially released the exoskeleton, announced more details, and published its retail price on their website.