Issue link: http://palletcentral.uberflip.com/i/801657
30 PalletCentral • January-February 2017 palletcentral.com n November 18, 2016, the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) issued its 513- page final rule modifying its requirements for fall prevention in general industry and the use of personal fall protection systems, 29 CFR Part 1910, Subparts D and I. The purpose of the rule is to update, align and provide greater flexibility to general industry walking-working surfaces (WWS) and fall protection standards. The final rule defines WWS as "Any horizontal or vertical surface on or through which an employee walks, works or gains access to a work area or workplace location." Therefore, it would cover everything in NWPCA member worksites: office areas, warehouse space, manufacturing areas, loading areas in the work or truck yard, and even routine maintenance work on HVAC systems or other roofing issues (other than construction work). OSHA notes that about 20 percent of all disabling occupational injuries result from falls, and slip/trip/falls are the second leading cause of death for general industry workers, accounting for some 15 percent of fatalities per year. The cost of the final rule is estimated to be $300 million per year, and should result in prevention of 29 fatalities annually. The new rules took effect, for the most part, on January 17, 2017, but some portions of the standard, such as worker training and modification of fixed ladders, have extended effective dates; full replacement of fixed ladders can be grandfathered until 2036. States with OSHA-approved plans have six months to adopt standards that will be at least as effective as Federal OSHA's rule. The agency elected not to increase the fall distance to six-feet, which is the basic construction requirement, and kept the general industry four-foot trigger. However, fall protection may still be required at lower heights in both general industry and construction, when there is a potential for injury when falling onto moving machinery, uncapped rebar or where a fall could result in similar hazardous conditions. OSHA's long-standing general industry standard only recognized use of guardrails and barriers as primary methods of protection and did not directly permit use of personal fall protection systems, except in limited circumstances. For example, OSHA has a 1984 general industry directive declaring that use of personal fall arrest systems would be permitted when workers were exposed to falls of four or more feet, but only if the situation was not occurring on a "predictable and regular basis" – defined as at least one every two weeks, or for a total of four or more man- hours during any sequential four-week period. That's all changed with the new rule. General industry employers will have new flexibility to adapt to each unique situation and provide the feasible and acceptable protections within a range of options: guardrails, railing systems, positioning systems, harness and lanyard systems, travel restraints, safety nets, written fall protection plans (where use of fall protection equipment is not feasible), and even through the use of "designated areas" (for low slope roofs where workers will remain at least 15 feet from the edge at all times). The rule requires inspection of these WWS, ladders and scaffolds, and it is a best practice to document such inspections in order to demonstrate compliance. O OSHA's New Fall Protection Offers Flexibility – But Will It Last? SAFETY It [WWS] would cover ever ything in NWPCA member worksites: office areas, warehouse space, manufacturing areas, loading areas in the work or truck yard, and even routine maintenance work on HVAC systems or other roofing issues. By Adele L. Abrams, Esq., CMSP