ES10.

1 EF

Topic: Fall Protection

Reporters: Ronne Joshua Ambulo, Alyza A. Sasing, Anjannet Pagdanganan.

PPE is your last line of defense and, therefore, important, but think about how it works. If you
are in a fall situation and your harness and lanyard (the PPE) have saved you, then that means
you had to fall. In other words, your harness and lanyard aren’t doing anything for you while you
are walking around and working. They only come into play after you’ve actually fallen. While
they do prevent death or serious injury that usually comes with hitting the lower level, there are
still plenty of exposures. For example, there are still strong forces being placed on the body that
could result in bone or tissue damage, especially if the equipment isn’t being used properly. This
“human error” is probably the biggest problem when it comes to PPE. PPE must be worn and
used properly. It must be cared for. It must be inspected. If any one of these links in the chain is
broken, the results could be traumatic or deadly.

Admistrative Controls

To state it simply, using Administrative Controls means you need to change procedures, place
signs, or take other steps to change the way people work. This method, as with PPE, does not
eliminate the hazard, it just reduces exposure to the hazard. For example, let’s say there’s an
elevated walkway with a rail system. For some reason, whether maintenance or a part of the
production process, a section of that rail needs to be removed or a gate needs to be opened. The
walkway in our hypothetical situation happens to be heavily traveled during the workday by
people who are not involved with the part of the process (or maintenance) that involves
removing the rail or opening the gate. Scheduling this work to be completed during off-hours or
restricting access to that walkway during the gate/rail opening could be considered an
administrative control.

Engineering Controls

Engineering controls may not be as effective as Elimination (see next section), but they are used
more frequently. This is because it is not always possible or practical to Eliminate a hazard.
When planned, Engineering controls tend to be achievable and, despite what one might think, not
always more expensive than other options. For fall protection, railings are a good example of an
Engineering Control; you have changed your environment to vastly reduce the exposure to the
hazard. This is not elimination as the very fact that you’re working at heights means there is a
potential to fall (somebody could go outside the railing, crash into it with great force, etc.).
Railings are passive protection, meaning that they are in place and they protect you without you
having to actively inspect something, put it on, and adjust it. A fall does not need to occur in
order for them to protect you. This option is vastly better than administrative controls or PPE, yet
is often not chosen.

Perhaps, though, the reason is cost. Engineering controls must be more expensive, right? This is
an unfortunate misconception. The cost of one harness and lanyard may be less than a rail
system, but how many do you need? How much will it cost to train your employees (and re-train
if necessary, not to mention training new hires)? How much will it cost to clean, store, maintain,
and replace the equipment? How much will it cost you in lawsuits when a maintenance
contractor goes to work on your roof without fall protection and falls off? Railings could be less
expensive than purchasing harnesses, lanyards, roofing carts or other mobile anchor points, for
example, and are definitely cheaper than legal payouts. When you start diving into it that deeply,
the rails begin to look better and better. Engineering controls deserve to be looked at more
closely in every situation.

Elimination

This is the Holy Grail. If you can eliminate a hazard, there is nothing else to worry about.
Unfortunately, this is not always possible. Full elimination of a fall hazard, for example, would
mean not putting any workers at heights. One example of this that I witnessed a number of years
ago was the erection of scaffolding in NYC. Originally, the erectors were up on the scaffold
waiting for pieces to be delivered to them by crane. They would receive the pieces and assemble
them in place, unprotected by railings or fall arrest systems the entire time. The argument,
whether valid or not, was that they could not tie-off. When this response was deemed
unacceptable, the process was reviewed. It was determined that the scaffold could be assembled
in sections on the ground, before being lifted into place by the crane. The workers could wait on
the previously erected level of scaffolding where they were fully protected by railings to guide
the next section into place and secure it. Yes, the erectors relied on the engineering controls of a
railing during the connection process, but they had completely eliminated the fall hazard during
the assembly process. Another example could be changing bulbs in high locations such as
warning lights on smokestacks. Rather than a worker having to climb the stack or use a lift to get
to the bulb, the hazard can be eliminated by designing it so that the bulb/light fixture can be
lowered to a safe location for replacement.

Elimination is more difficult but it is by definition the most effective. No hazard, no harm. More
than any other solution, elimination should be pursued. Change the process, change the location
of the work, change the schedule, or do whatever needs to be done to ensure that work takes
place without risk. Unfortunately, this is not always realistic. Try as we might, there just isn’t
always a way to do the necessary work without a fall exposure. When that’s the case, work your
way down through the hierarchy, only moving on to the next option when all possible solutions
in the previous one have been exhausted. You owe it to your employees to take the time to come
up with the best solution for their well-being.

FALL PROTECTION SYSTEMS

Types of fall protection

1. Guardrails
2. Personal Fall Arrest System or PFAS
3. Safety Nets