How Is Your Fall-protection Plan?

Citing “record numbers” of unsafe roofing complaints in the Denver area during the first half of 2014, OSHA began its own outreach efforts and partnered with organizations, like the Colorado Roofing Association (CRA) and the Better Business Bureau (BBB), to make fall protection a priority among roofers and encourage consumers to hire roofing companies who do.

“In the past six months, we have received 63 complaints related to unsafe work practices, and this is the beginning of roofing season,” said David Nelson, OSHA’s area director in Englewood, Colo.

This emphasis contains two messages: the first to get consumers to hire contractors with a safety plan and good record; the second to prompt roofers to develop and follow safe work practices.

FOR CONSUMERS

Among its efforts, OSHA emphasized that home and business owners should use the OSHA website, CRA and BBB to hire reputable roofing companies with a safe work record without safety violations. OSHA advises consumers ask probing questions of roofing contractor’s safety plans, such as:

▪▪ Are the installers your employees or subcontractors?
▪▪ Are they insured?
▪▪ What is their past work history?
▪▪ How will the project be managed?
▪▪ What kind of fall protection will be used?

FOR ROOFING CONTRACTORS

For roofing contracting companies, OSHA hosted a 2014 National Safety Stand-Down week on June 2-6 that encouraged employers to stop work for one week to discuss fall hazards and safety measures.

At the end of June, the same OSHA Region 8 (Colorado, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota) announced it was going to spend extra energy enforcing safety in roofing following increased construction after a hailstorm.

“Falls from roofs, ladders and scaffolds can be prevented by planning ahead, providing the right equipment for the job and by training everyone working on a project to use the equipment safely,” said Jeff Funke, OSHA’s area director in Billings, Mont.

These efforts demonstrate that roofing companies need to be prepared and committed to an effective fall-protection safety plan and be able to answer questions about it to prevent injuries and protect the company if an accident happens, as well as help win jobs if customers ask about the safety plan.

REVIEW YOUR FALL-PROTECTION PLAN

Considering the reasons for adhering to a comprehensive plan, take a moment and review your fall-protection procedures. This should be done annually, anyway.

Ideally, all potential hazards that could be encountered are eliminated or addressed through proper protection, work practices and training. Often, expertise, past experience or industry standards will point out these potential work hazards that need to be rectified.

According to information provided by OSHA’s outreach, a comprehensive fall-protection plan should include at least preventing falls from roofs, ladders and scaffolding. OSHA stresses the need to plan for safety, provide the correct equipment and ensure everyone is trained in safe work practices. Consider the following:

FALLS FROM ROOFS
Employees need to know when to wear a harness and how to ensure it fits. The proper guardrails and lifelines need to be implemented and used. Employees need to inspect all fall-protection equipment before using it and be able to determine when it is no longer safe. Holes, open stairwells, openings and skylights must be securely covered or guarded.

FALLS FROM LADDERS
Employees must know how to select the correct ladder and the proper way to safely use all ladders. Regardless of the type of ladder, users must maintain three points of contact; always face the ladder; and, without overreaching, secure the ladder on level footing; as well as never stand on the top step.

Extension ladders are not self-supporting and, therefore, need a stable structure and foundation to withstand the load. In addition, the area around the bottom and top of the ladder must have sufficient unobstructed space.

Plan to have an extension ladder that can hold at least four times the weight you intend to put on it. That includes any people and equipment and materials.

Also have a “competent person” visually inspect the ladder and secure the top of the ladder to a solid support. (A competent person is a technical term for someone who has the training and experience to know how to act safely and the authority to make a decision.)

Other safe work practices that should be followed include:

▪▪ Check the location of power lines before placing the ladder.
▪▪ Stay near the middle of the rungs while going up or down.
▪▪ Use barriers while on the ladder to keep traffic away, especially near doors and entryways.
▪▪ Only use the ladder for the purpose it was designed.

FALLS FROM SCAFFOLDS
Basic scaffold safety incorporates using fully planked scaffolds and ensuring they are sturdy, plumb and level with all guardrails completed and with stable footing. The scaffold must be used properly and accessed through a properly provided route; users should not climb on cross braces or stand on guardrails. Ladders also can’t be used on top of a scaffold.

A competent person—someone with the experience to recognize hazards and the authority to fix them—must inspect the scaffold before use.

STAY AHEAD OF OSHA

OSHA’s outreach is another example of it using incidents and complaints to focus attention on an industry. But it’s not just roofing contractors who are receiving increased attention.

In February, OSHA contacted communication-tower employers to remind them of their responsibility to train and monitor employee fall protection following 13 deaths in 2013 and four in the first weeks of 2014—a total higher than in the previous two years combined.

Ultimately, OSHA has reason to focus on particular industries, so it’s imperative you ensure your fall-protection program is effective.