OSHA Subpart M [1926.500(b)] defines anchorage as "a secure means and point of attachment for lifelines, lanyards or deceleration devices." For physics buffs, it may also be identified as the terminus of the final force vector created by the arrested impact of a falling mass. Beyond the anchorage, the dissipation of the negative acceleration must occur without quantifiable structural failure in the mechanism or material supporting the anchor.
I instruct construction workers in the various OSHA and MSHA standards and how to practically apply them to their professions. That is the simple part of my job. I also train workers to be aware of their own intuition, how it applies to their workday, and what to make of the messages they receive. That's the complicated part.
As an employee, the designated competent person is entitled to enjoy a workplace that is free from existing or potential identifiable hazards that could cause injury, illness or death. But as an extension of the employer, the competent person has an obligation to represent the employer's safety and health program on site by promptly abating hazardous conditions and correcting unsafe acts.
Webster's unabridged dictionary defines the verb "innovate" as "to introduce something new, or make changes in anything established." This article explores five ladder innovations designed to make ladders safer, more versatile, and easier to use.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has estimated that 33 percent of construction trade fatalities are due to falls from heights and 6 percent of these falls originated from a ladder. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission's 1994 study, more than 90,000 people in the United States received emergency room treatment for ladder-related injuries and 300 died. Underwriters Laboratories estimates that over 222,000 portable ladder accidents requiring professional medical treatment are reported every year in the United States.
I have heard from dozens of roofers, carpenters and laborers who've fallen off sloped and flat roof edges and then were "primarily rescued" by their personal fall arrest system (PFAS). In the majority of cases, they were unprepared for the consequences of an arrested fall. Totally unprepared.
Maybe it was the warm sunshine on my coatless shoulders and the robins hunting worms in the lawn next to me, but a voice inside me gave me permission to go straight in and speak my mind.