What Does
Fall Protection Mean?
Fall protection is a broad category of workplace safety initiatives that are designed to prevent injuries while working at heights. It includes methods for reducing the risk of a fall taking place (such as guardrails) as well as measures to reduce harm when a fall does occur (such as personal fall arrest systems).
The Importance of Fall Protection
Falls from height are the leading cause of death in the construction industry. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), falls were responsible for 395 out of 1069 reported construction fatalities in 2022. Implementing an effective fall protection plan can go a long way to reducing the number of construction workers who lose their lives on the job.
Fall protection measures are also a legal obligation in many workplaces. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires that employers establish and follow a comprehensive fall protection plan whenever employees are working at an elevation that is four feet above the lower level (or six feet for construction work). This includes work taking place on elevated platforms, on rooftops, or in proximity to holes or openings in the walking-working surface.
OSHA Fall Protection Standards for Construction and General Industry
OSHA recognizes that work environments and the hazards encountered on the worksite will differ significantly across industries. As such, it provides four sets of comprehensive health and safety standards:
Most workplaces are required to follow the fall protection rules that apply to General Industry, including:
- 1910 Subpart D – Walking-Working Surfaces
- 1910 Subpart F – Powered Platforms, Manlifts, and Vehicle-Mounted Work Platforms
- 1910.40 – Personal fall protection systems
Construction projects must comply with these fall protection rules while also adhering to those laid out in the 1926 standard. In particular:
- 1926.104 – Safety belts, lifelines, and lanyards
- 1926.105 – Safety nets
- 1926 Subpart L – Scaffolds
- 1926 Subpart M – Fall Protection
- 1926 Subpart R – Steel Erections
- 1926 Subpart CC – Cranes and Derricks in Construction
Safeopedia Explains Fall Protection
In 2017, OSHA updated its fall protection standards for general industry to bring them in line with the rules that apply to the construction industry. However, there are still some important differences between them.
Hazardous Height Thresholds
One of the major differences between the 1910 and 1926 fall protection standards is the height at which fall protection measures come into effect.
For general industry, fall protection is required for any walking-working surface that is at least four feet above the lower level. In construction, fall protection is only required at an elevation of six feet or higher.
Safety Nets
While OSHA does not mandate the use of safety nets in most workplaces, they are required for any construction work that takes place 25 feet above the ground or higher.
Fall Protection Basics
Why Falls Happen
Falls in the workplace happen for a number of reasons. In part, this is due to the fact that there are different types of falls.
About 70% of falls in general industry (30% in the construction industry) are falls from the same level. These are characterized as slips, trips, and falls and can be caused by a number of factors, including:
- Spilled liquid on a walking surface
- Icy walkways
- Tripping hazards (e.g. extension cords laid across a walking surface)
- Uneven ground
- Lack of signage warning about slip or trip hazards
The remaining 30% (70% in construction) are falls from heights, which includes falling from a ladder, falling over leading edges, and falling through skylights and other holes on a walking surface. The causes of these falls are varied and can include:
- Working too close to leading edges
- Unguarded edges
- Improper use of ladders (or using the wrong type of ladder)
- Open holes without warning signs
- Unstable scaffolding
More generally, falls can result from a poorly implemented fall protection plan. This can lead to insufficient safety training, inadequate PPE, or the wrong type of ladder being used on the jobsite.
When is fall protection required?
As mentioned above, OSHA requires fall protection whenever employees are working on a walking-working surface that is four feet above the lower level. In construction, the requirement kicks in at an elevation of six feet.
Falls, however, can cause injury at any height. So, it is important to protect workers from falls no matter how short the drop might be.
More robust fall protection might also be needed at greater elevations. For instance, safety nets must be installed on construction sites when anyone is working at 25 feet or higher.
Three Forms of Fall Protection
Protecting workers from fall hazards involves a number of different control methods. These controls can be broken down into three distinct categories: fall prevention, fall restraint, and fall arrest.
Fall Prevention
Fall prevention systems are a type of engineering control. They are physical barriers that prevent workers from coming into contact with fall hazards.
Guardrails are emblematic of fall prevention. They act as a sturdy obstacle that discourages workers from going near leading edges.
Skylight screens are also part of this category. These are metallic fences that are installed over skylights. They are designed to support the weight of a person falling to prevent them from breaking through the glass and falling to the lower level.
Fall Restraint
Fall restraint systems also prevent employees from coming into contact with fall hazards. Instead of creating a barrier, however, they achieve this by limiting the worker’s movements.
Fall restraint systems consist of a safety harness worn on the body and a lanyard that connects the harness to a tie-off point somewhere in the working area. When tied off, the user will be tethered and won’t be able to reach leading edges or other fall hazards.
Fall Arrest
Unlike fall prevention and fall restraint systems, fall arrest systems don’t actually reduce the risk of a fall. Rather, they stop a fall in progress before the worker hits the ground.
Personal fall arrest systems (PFAS) consist of a harness worn on the body and a self-retracting device connected to an anchor point in the working area. Unlike restraint systems, a PFAS will not prevent the user from walking up to leading edges or near other fall hazards. It will, however, lock when a worker falls, suspending them in the harness before they reach the lower level.
Fall arrest systems allow employees to carry out tasks where the risk of a fall cannot be entirely eliminated. For instance, working on unguarded leading edges, repairing skylights, or working on a narrow surface with insufficient room for guardrails and other protective measures.
Fall arrest systems are effective at preventing fatalities from falls. However, arresting a fall still carries the potential for a serious injury:
- While a PFAS is designed to absorb some of the energy of a fall, the abrupt stop nevertheless subjects the user’s body to a high degree of force
- Workers can suffer injuries from swinging into walls or colliding with other objects while suspended
- If not rescued quickly enough after a fall, a suspended worker can undergo suspension trauma
Although these are serious concerns, injuries like these are preferable to the loss of life or severe bodily harm that would result from the worker free falling to the ground.
Active and Passive Fall Protection
Fall protection measures can also be categorized as either active or passive.
Active fall protection measures are those that require the employees to take certain actions to ensure their safety. These include:
- Adhering to safety policies and procedures
- Staying clear of leading edges and other hazardous areas
- Donning a fall protection harness
- Securely tying their lanyard or lifeline to a suitable anchor point
Passive fall protection measures, on the other hand, do not rely on a worker’s actions to keep them safe. These include:
- Guardrails
- Skylight guards
- Warning line systems
- Safety nets
- Hole covers
Fall Protection Hierarchy
Like all other safety measures, fall protection programs should follow the hierarchy of hazard controls. This means prioritizing the most effective control measures before adding less effective ones.
In the case of fall protection, the hierarchy is as follows:
- Elimination – Whenever possible, fall hazards should be eliminated. For example, using drones to carry out inspections at heights without exposing workers to fall hazards.
- Engineering Controls – When fall hazards cannot be eliminated, they can be controlled using passive fall protection methods like guardrails, hole covers, safety nets, and scaffolding.
- Administrative Controls – Fall protection policies and procedures are usually required, even when engineering controls are in place. This includes controlled access zones (CAZ) that demarcate high-risk areas workers should avoid and assembling components at ground level to limit the amount of time employees spend working at heights.
- Personal Protective Equipment – Fall protection PPE is needed when other control methods have not sufficiently eliminated the risk of a fall. This typically consists of either fall restraint systems or personal fall arrest systems.
An Overview of Fall Protection Systems
There are different types of fall protection systems that can be used to prevent falls or protect workers from serious injury when a fall occurs. Which ones are needed will depend on the specifics of the working environment and the fall hazards workers face while on the job.
Here is a brief overview of common fall protection systems and when they are required.
- Guardrails: Fixed barriers that are tall and sturdy enough to prevent workers from falling. Guardrails are required when there are unprotected edges on walking-working surfaces with a drop of at least four feet (or six feet on construction sites).
- Safety Nets: Netting systems that are wide and sturdy enough to catch a falling worker. Safety nets are required in construction where walking-working surfaces have unprotected edges at elevations of 25 feet or higher.
- Fall Restraint Systems: These systems allow workers to tie off to an anchor point and limit how far they can travel, keeping them away from fall hazards. These are required in construction projects where guardrails cannot be installed or do not provide sufficient protection.
- Personal Fall Arrest Systems: A type of PPE that does not prevent a worker from falling but will stop them from reaching ground level if they do. PFAS are used where guardrails cannot be installed, when workers might need to work close to leading edges, or where other fall protection methods cannot be installed (for instance, on ladders or elevated platforms).
- Warning Line Systems: These are rope and flag systems that visually demarcate an area of the worksite. They are often used in roofing work to mark off a six foot distance from leading edges. Warning line systems cannot stop a worker from falling and are typically used in combination with other fall protection methods.
Key Tips for Preventing Falls
Here are some quick tips to prevent falls on the jobsite:
- Conduct a thorough risk assessment to identify all fall hazards
- Provide employees with the right type of PPE
- Train workers on how to inspect their PFAS for wear and tear or other signs of damage
- Ensure that every worker can tie off to a suitable anchor point
- Make sure that the fall distance has been carefully calculated and that there is sufficient clearance for fall arrest systems to deploy safely
- Verify that guardrails and other passive fall protection systems are properly installed and inspected regularly
Fall Protection Training
Fall protection training requirements are outlined in OSHA’s 1910.30 and 1926.503 standards.
Employers must provide adequate fall protection training to all employees who may be exposed to fall hazards. This training must be conducted by a competent person and include topics like:
- Identifying fall hazards
- Having control methods in place to prevent falls
- When fall protection PPE is required
- How to inspect, don, and use fall protection PPE
Workers must be given refresher training when:
- Changes to the workplace or jobsite introduce new fall hazards to the working environment
- New fall protection measures are implemented
- The employer has reason to believe that the worker does not have a sufficient understanding of fall protection procedures
Ready to learn more? Check out our free webinar on Leading Edges in Fall Protection!
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