Fall Protection

[marissa2]

Is Fall Protection required when working on a ladder over 6 feet. I have been told that it is, but in the past at safety meetings I was told that it isn't. I have looked in the OSHA regulations and didn't see anything or did I miss it.
Lou

 

[charlie b]

Re: Fall Protection

It's not an NEC issue.

 

[jbwhite]

Re: Fall Protection

I have heard both sides of this too. I just spent some time on the osha web site and saw no specific mention of fall protection regarding laders. I did find several mentions about working off a platform more than 6 feet above the floor. I guess a safty inspector could say that if you are working off of a ladder it is a platform.

I once had a saftey inspector try to site me for working off of an eight foot ladder without a harnass. i was on the third rung down since the top two rungs of any ladder are not steps. i took out my ruler and showed that the sixth rung from the bottom is only at 5 feet 10 inches or so.

He pulled out his AHJ clause, and i went and got my harnass, but i didnt get the speeding ticket LOL

 

[apauling]

Re: Fall Protection

what do you attach the harness to when working on a step ladder. Isn't that sort of making sure the ladder falls on you as well as falling off the ladder.

paul :roll:

 

[charlie b]

Re: Fall Protection

I want to know how you are going to reach a eye bolt or other connection point above the ladder, so that you can connect your harness, without first going up the ladder without the harness having yet been attached to that eye bolt, and without violating the alleged 6 foot rule. Can you say, "Catch 22"?

 

[don_resqcapt19]

Re: Fall Protection

In general OSHA does not require fall protection for portable ladders.

Another link

Don

 

[jbwhite]

Re: Fall Protection

Originally posted by charlie b:
I want to know how you are going to reach a eye bolt or other connection point above the ladder, so that you can connect your harness, without first going up the ladder without the harness having yet been attached to that eye bolt, and without violating the alleged 6 foot rule. Can you say, "Catch 22"?

on other osha pages they say that the rules for climbing up to the working height, erecting the working surface, and inspecting the work platfrom, are different from the rules for working off of the platform.

I guess you can climb up, hook on , then go to work.

 

[jbwhite]

Re: Fall Protection

Originally posted by don_resqcapt19:
In general OSHA does not require for portable ladders.

Don

Thanks Don, I like to understand these things. But I think that a person would have a hard time refusing to use this type of PPE. Based on your links OSHA does not disapprove of employers inforcing more stict standards. So, even though this is not an OSHA "requirement" the refusal to use fall protection would be a hard case to make with the labor board.

Where I work we are required to use harnass when working on a sizzor lift. We have long argued that this is not an osha requirement. and the saftey inspectors dont care. This is a case where the AHJ does have total power.

[ November 30, 2005, 04:33 PM: Message edited by: jbwhite ]

 

[apauling]

Re: Fall Protection

so what do you hook onto when using the ladder for the first time in a location that has no existing safety attachments. if you use the ladder, double hazard. you can't hook onto existing electrical installations as an osha req.. some might be safe, but it could hardly be a requiement.

so how could there be a requirement for safety harnesses using portable ladders, unless safety equipment is already installed.

not that i didn't wish there were some safety devices when i worked on questionable ladder arrangements before.

 

[iwire]

Re: Fall Protection

Originally posted by apauling:
so what do you hook onto when using the ladder for the first time in a location that has no existing safety attachments.

That is a good question and a tough one to answer.

OSHA requires the tie off point to be capable of supporting 5000 lbs or be engineered.

 

[jbwhite]

Re: Fall Protection

Don has answered the question about portable ladders above. You should follow his links.

As for other work platforms. As I mentioned above, OSHA has different requirements for installing the platform, inspecting the platform, and gaining access to the platform.

This makes sense to me. While climbing up the scaffold i have both hands free to hold on. once i start working with my tools, if something happens, i am no longer holding on and may not be able to reach a hand hold in time.

Scaffold erectors use their own set of rules. and i don't know enough about that to comment.

 

[marissa2]

Re: Fall Protection

Don
Thank you, that was the information I was looking for. That is what I like about this site, no matter what you are looking for someone can help.
Lou

 

[H.L.]

Re: Fall Protection

Fall protection is not required by OSHA when using portable ladders in most situations. One exception could be if you are working on a self supporting ladder and that ladder is at or near the exposed edge of a floor 6' or more above the lower level. In this situation you would need fall protection but that would be required because of the exposed edge and not the ladder. (see OSHA's web site and search letters of interpretation.)

That being said; OSHA can site the employer for violating job site safety rules that are more strict than OSHA's.

H.L.

 

[Leitmotif]

Re: Fall Protection

Fall protection is not required by OSHA when using portable ladders in most situations. One exception could be if you are working on a self supporting ladder and that ladder is at or near the exposed edge of a floor 6' or more above the lower level. In this situation you would need fall protection but that would be required because of the exposed edge and not the ladder. (see OSHA's web site and search letters of interpretation.)
QUOTE
"That being said; OSHA can site the employer for violating job site safety rules that are more strict than OSHA's."

IN GENERAL no they cannot cite when job site rules more stringent than OSHA are violated.
All they can refer to is the OSHA rule.

I suppose if there is a safety plan ie rooftop fall protection and it is not being followed even if it is more stirngent than OSHA then maybe they could cite for not following the safety plan.

Been a while since I been in the safety business -- thankfully -- so I am a little shaky on this one.

Dan Bentler

 

[TOMWELDS]

Re: Fall Protection

My guess is that there are no regulations due to the fact that you arent supposed to work over the reccomended heights, you cant logically tie off to the ladder itself. There might be rules on how to work off the ladder...ie: reaching too far, standing over the reccomended heights, etc. Common sense call here...

 

[jbwhite]

Re: Fall Protection

yes there are standards... they are not nec rules but osha standards.

 

[dlhoule]

Re: Fall Protection

Yes, there are OSHA Standards, and the ones for fall protection are not always too practicable. For example; If I understand things correctly, if you wind up suspended with a safety harness holding you safely from contacting ground or anything else at a high rate of speed, you will lose consciousness in a very short period of time.

Best to have someone available to get you down in a short period of time.

 

[tseeba]

Re: Fall Protection

Hopefully, this might help. I work at a place that is covered by 29CFR-1910, if it is construction it is 29CFR-1926. Under 1910 we're are required to be tied off at 4 feet, 1926 is 6'. It does not specifically say ladders, but it is covered under unprotected work platforms, sorry no reference. The reason is because a ladder is considered unprotected and the rung is the work platform.

 

[don_resqcapt19]

Re: Fall Protection

tseeba,

It does not specifically say ladders, but it is covered under unprotected work platforms, sorry no reference. The reason is because a ladder is considered unprotected and the rung is the work platform.

Did you read the info in the links that I posted in the 6th post of this thread? Do you have documents to refute that information and that supports your statement?
Don

 

[tseeba]

Re: Fall Protection

Don

Yes, I did read the links that you provided. I noticed that the dates on them are '96 and 2000. Is it possible things have changed since then? The information that I provided came from the mouth of our compliance supervisor, who is also an OSHA instructor. He had asked this same question to his instructor and he replied in the exact same way, he also added that even if you were able to win in court, you would get cited under the general duty clause. IMHO I think that alot of these interpretations are dependant on how tough the inspector wants to be. I know that by following these rules, even if they're non-existant or not enforceable, that I stand a better chance of me and all my guys going home at night, than if we weren't tied off at all.

As to what dlhoule wrote about hanging from your harness. That is true, it's called "suspension trauma". When we go through our training we are taught on how to deal with hanging in mid-air. All this is fine, as long as you're still conscious.