OSHA 1910.140:

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires employers to set up the workplace to prevent employees from falling off overhead platforms, elevated workstations, and into holes in floors and walls. It is an employer’s responsibility to provide fall protection to employees working at elevations at or above:

• 4 feet in general industry
• 5 feet in shipyards
• 6 feet in the construction industry
• 8 feet in longshoring and offshore operations

OSHA also requires that employers provide fall protection when employees are working over dangerous equipment and machinery -- such as a vat of acid or a conveyor belt -- regardless of the fall distance.

According to OSHA, “Falls are the leading cause of work-related injuries and deaths among roofers. Working six feet or more above lower levels put roofers at risk for serious injury or death if they should fall. A lack of fall protection, damaged fall protection equipment, or improper setup will increase their risk of falling from height.”

The Center for Construction Research and Training (CPWR) states, “Despite ongoing efforts to improve safety, more than 1,000 workers have died on the job annually since 2016, with more than one-third resulting from falls to a lower level.”

Solutions:

Safety Rail Source^® partners with FallProtec^® to offer multiple solutions to protect workers from the danger of falling from heights.

1. Personal Fall Arrest Systems

Anchors, Bodywear (aka harnesses), and Connectors make up the ABC’s of personal fall arrest equipment.

• Anchors are a secure point of attachment for fall arrest and vary by industry, job, type of installation and structure. Some are permanently installed while most anchors are temporary and reusable.
• Bodywear, aka Harnesses, distribute fall forces over the upper thighs, pelvis, chest and shoulders. They provide a connection point on the worker for the personal fall arrest system.
• Connectors such as energy-absorbing lanyards or self-retracting lifelines (SRLs) connect a worker’s harness to the anchors.

2. Fixed Ladder Lifelines

Vertical Lifelines can be retrofitted on existing ladders and act as a moving lifeline connector for buildings, water towers, masts, and industrial applications. OSHA states that vertical lifelines are mandatory for ladders above 20' height. Standard sizes and custom designs are available.

3. Custom Fall Arrest Solutions

In addition to these standard solutions, Safety Rail Source provides Engineered Fall Protection for fall hazards that cannot be protected by conventional safety systems. If the roof has a pitch greater than 1 in 12 (5 degrees) or requires a 5,000 lbs. fall rating, custom solutions may be required. Additionally, if aesthetics are important, these solutions maintain a low profile which preserves roof line architecture. All fall protection is designed to exceed IBC, ANSI and OSHA standards with a safety factor of 2.

• Horizontal & Inclined Fall Arrest Systems

Horizontal lifeline systems are either cable based or ridged rail systems. Cable-based systems allow for safe tie-off for your facility workers without restricting their mobility. Cable systems easily accommodate the existing layout of your facility to allow workers to tie off to a trolly and access areas where maintenance is required.

Rigid rail or rigid track systems are ideal when there is minimal fall clearance. Rigid systems come in two forms. Beam-style fall protection system utilizes existing overhead I-Beams along with a tie-off trolly. A rigid rail system features an enclosed track with a self-retracting lifeline system for a worker to safely travel the entire span of the track with continuous tie-off. Unlike horizontal lifelines, rigid rail systems have limited deflection, which limits free-fall.

• Vertical Fall Arrest Systems

Vertical lifeline systems provide fall protection for workers who perform climbing tasks. Vertical fall protection cables enable mobility up and down the entire height of the line, eliminating the need to disconnect and find a new tie-off point along the way. These systems are usually a cable, or a track to which a worker is attached via a full body harness and lanyard. Vertical lifelines protect utility workers, linemen, aircraft hangar workers, telecommunication tower climbers, bridge maintenance workers, steel mill workers, oil and gas workers, and solar system workers.

• Overhead Suspended Lifelines

Overhead Suspended Lifelines are custom designed using the SecuRope™, SecuRail Pro™, SkyDavit™, or Flexbow™ systems. The SecuRope is a stainless-steel cable fall arrest system. The SecuRail Pro is an aesthetic, aluminum, rigid rail fall arrest system. Both are equipped with a stainless steel trolly that easily glides along the cable or rail for smooth performance. The SkyDavit is installed on the roof or other structure enabling façade cleaning or other maintenance work. The SafeAccess FlexBow is a non-deformable, overhead fall arrest rail for industrial applications when the fall clearance is low.

Please Contact us to discuss your particular requirements and to receive a free, personalized quote.

Additional OSHA Code Detail:

1910.140: Personal fall protection systems. The employer must ensure that each horizontal lifeline is designed, installed, and used under the supervision of a qualified person; and...

1910.140(c)(11)(ii): It is part of a complete personal fall arrest system that maintains a safety factor of at least two.

1910.140(c)(12): Anchorage used to attach to personal fall protection equipment must be independent of any anchorage used to suspend employees or platforms on which employees work. Anchorages used to attach to personal fall protection equipment on mobile work platforms on powered industrial trucks must be attached to an overhead member of the platform, at a point located above and near the center of the platform.

1910.140(c)(13): Anchorages, except window cleaners' belt anchors covered by paragraph (e) of this section, must be: Capable of supporting at least 5,000 pounds (22.2 kN) for each employee attached; or...1910.140(c)(13)(ii): Designed, installed, and used, under the supervision of a qualified person, as part of a complete personal fall protection system that maintains a safety factor of at least two.

1910.140(c)(14): Travel restraint lines must be capable of sustaining a tensile load of at least 5,000 pounds (22.2 kN).

1910.140(c)(15): Lifelines must not be made of natural fiber rope. Polypropylene rope must contain an ultraviolet (UV) light inhibitor.

1910.140(c)(16): Personal Fall Arrest Systems: System performance criteria. In addition to the general requirements in paragraph (c) of this section, the employer must ensure that personal fall arrest systems:

• 1910.140(d)(1)(i) Limit the maximum arresting force on the employee to 1,800 pounds (8 kN);
• 1910.140(d)(1)(ii): Bring the employee to a complete stop and limit the maximum deceleration distance the employee travels to 3.5 feet (1.1 m)
• 1910.140(d)(1)(iii): Have sufficient strength to withstand twice the potential impact energy of the employee free falling a distance of 6 feet (1.8 m), or the free fall distance permitted by the system; and...
• 1910.140(d)(1)(iv): Sustain the employee within the system/strap configuration without making contact with the employee's neck and chin area.
• 1910.140(d)(1)(v): If the personal fall arrest system meets the criteria and protocols in appendix D of this subpart and is being used by an employee having a combined body and tool weight of less than 310 pounds (140 kg), the system is considered to be in compliance with the provisions of paragraphs (d)(1)(i) through (iii) of this section. If the system is used by an employee having a combined body and tool weight of 310 pounds (140kg) or more and the employer has appropriately modified the criteria and protocols in appendix D, then the system will be deemed to be in compliance with the requirements of paragraphs (d)(1)(i) through (iii).

1910.140(d)(2): The employer must ensure that:

• On any horizontal lifeline that may become a vertical lifeline, the device used to connect to the horizontal lifeline is capable of locking in both directions on the lifeline.
• 1910.140(d)(2)(ii): Personal fall arrest systems are rigged in such a manner that the employee cannot free fall more than 6 feet (1.8 m) or contact a lower level. A free fall may be more than 6 feet (1.8 m) provided the employer can demonstrate the manufacturer designed the system to allow a free fall of more than 6 feet and tested the system to ensure a maximum arresting force of 1,800 pounds (8 kN) is not exceeded.

1910.140(d)(3): Body belts. Body belts are prohibited as part of a personal fall arrest system.