Featured Image Caption: Fall Protection Safety
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Fall protection serves as a state of the art system that helps prevent, or at least reduce, the severity of injuries caused by a fall. Even falling from a fairly low elevation can cause injuries that can prove fatal.
While good planning and training are key, the proper equipment must be worn while on the worksite. Monitoring is also crucial to ensure that all workers adhere to your safety protocols.
The proper fall protection system needs to be set up if you want to minimize injuries associated with construction site falls and reduce your liability. Here, our focus will be on fall protection and when required.
What Can be Done to Reduce the Risk of Falling?
Companies can configure their work environments so that workers do not fall through gaps in the walls or floors of their sites. Platforms and elevated workstations should also be focused on to reduce workplace accidents.
Floor holes need to be carefully guarded, as haphazard employees may walk into them and injure themselves. Moreover, if any open-sided platforms are elevated, installing a toe-board and guard rail is necessary.
You should do the same for any runways or floors. Safety lines and harnesses also serve as the top-of-the-line fall protection systems to save countless lives.
Handrails may also be a prerequisite for certain areas and sectors, and stair railings and safety nets can also help protect your crew from serious injuries.
The Hierarchy of Fall Protection
You need to carefully follow the fall protection hierarchy to limit and reduce fall hazards. First, we must focus on guardrails. Handrails and guardrails may be temporary or permanent.
They serve as reliable shields around an edge or aperture to prevent your workers from falling to a lower floor or level. There may be certain fall hazards that cannot be avoided at lower levels, so you need to protect your employees using all the tools at your disposal.
Fall restraint devices are also very important. They are designed to prevent workers from falling by restricting their movement. When an employee is subjected to tight movement restrictions, they may need to be affixed to a fixed-length rope.
Fall restraints will prevent workers from approaching an edge and keep them and other workers safe. Fall arrests also serve as a leading-edge form of fall protection.
A fall restraint system may not be viable or practical in some situations. If you are dealing with such a situation, you may need to opt for a fall arrest system. A fall arrest system will help prevent the worker from hitting the ground after falling.
You should try and prevent falls first, but a fall arrest system will at least prevent the employee from seriously injuring themselves if they do fall.
Fall Arrest Systems
A fall arrest system is a reliable and affordable system that will prevent crew members from injuring themselves if they fall while working at a construction site or commercial building.
Most fall arrest systems will have a connecting device that is affixed to a safety line that was previously installed.
A fall arrest system is designed to arrest the employee if they fall off a roof. The harness will prevent them from falling further down, helping save lives.
Training your Employees
As an employer, one of your responsibilities is to provide your workers with safety information and training. They need to be aware of any fall hazards on the construction site.
Language must be clear and concise. Avoid vague or ambiguous language or overly complicated jargon. The training must be ongoing. As protocols and equipment change, your employees must be given the correct instructions.
They must be kept up to speed on the latest safety hazards and guidelines to protect themselves and their fellow employees better. Do not leave anything to chance. It should also be noted that this training is mandatory by law.
Every employee must be confident in their abilities and the abilities of their co-workers to cooperate and keep worker morale high.
High turnover rates, burnout, and litigation can usually be avoided when all of your employees are on the same page regarding workplace safety.
Protect Your Investment
Working from a high vantage point requires a very high level of concentration. However, focus and sheer will can only get you so far. Fall protection systems that meet the highest safety and quality standards must become the gold standard.
You should not cut corners when protecting your workers from harm. Workers must be trained on a routine basis to stay abreast of the latest safety hazards and protocols.
Complacency and taking shortcuts may lead to severe accidents and numerous fatalities. Your company may be subject to multiple lawsuits that can harm you financially and may also negatively impact the reputation of your business.
The hierarchy of fall protection outlined earlier may help you determine the ideal means for protecting your crew when they need to work from great heights.
At the very least, you should install fall restraint systems and guardrails in areas where the risk of falling simply cannot be avoided. Fall protection systems can save thousands of lives every year when used properly.
By Devon Graham
who is a blogger in Toronto. He graduated with honours from the University of British Columbia with a dual degree in Business Administration and Creative Writing. Devon Graham is a community manager for small businesses across Canada. He also likes to research various topics related to pets, food, storage solutions and business solutions.
Member since July, 2021
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