Anchor 1

A fall hazard is anything in the workplace that could cause an unintended loss of balance or bodily support and results in a fall. Fall hazards cause accidents such as the following:

Most fall hazards are foreseeable. You can identify them and eliminate or control them before they cause injuries.

Anchor 2

Involve others. You may need others to help you evaluate fall hazards. Ask workers who may be exposed to fall hazards and
their supervisors. Involving others also strengthens your safety program.

Determine how workers will access elevated surfaces to do their jobs. Will workers be using portable ladders, supported
scaffolds, aerial lifts, or suspension platforms to reach work areas? Which ones will they use? How and where will they use the equipment?

Identify jobs that could expose workers to falls. Using a set of worksite plans, review the entire construction project.
Evaluate each phase of the project from the ground up. Ensure that all walking/working surfaces have the strength to support workers and their equipment. Then identify jobs that could expose workers to falls.

Identify hazardous work areas. Determine if workers’ jobs could expose them to the following hazards:

Determine how frequently workers will do jobs that expose them to falls. The more frequently a worker is exposed to a
fall hazard, the more likely the worker could fall.

Determine whether workers need to move horizontally, vertically, or in both directions to do their jobs. How workers move to perform tasks can affect their risk of falling. Knowing how they move to perform tasks can help you determine how to protect them.

Determine how many workers are exposed to fall hazards. As more workers are exposed to a fall hazard, the more likely it
is one could fall.

Identify walking/working surfaces that could expose workers to fall hazards. Examples are floors, roofs, ramps, bridges, runways, formwork, beams, columns, trusses, and rebar.

Identify excavations 6 feet or more in depth that are not readily seen. When an excavation is 6 feet or more in depth and is not readily seen because of plant growth or other visual barrier, use guardrail systems, fences, or barricades to protect any employee who might approach the edge of the visually obstructed excavation.

Identify any well, pit, shaft, or other similar excavations 6 feet or more in depth. Use guardrail systems, fences, barricades, or covers to protect any employee who might approach the edge of a well, pit, shaft, or other similar excavation, when the excavation is 6 feet or more in depth.

Determine the fall distances from walking/working surfaces to lower levels. Generally, workers performing construction
activities must be protected from fall hazards on

walking/working surfaces where they could fall six feet or more to a lower level. Workers must also be protected from falling onto or into dangerous equipment from any distance. However, there are also situations when the trigger height for fall protection is 10 feet or more.

Ensure that existing guardrails and covers meet Subdivision M requirements.

Workers must also be protected from falling onto or into dangerous equipment from any distance.

Ensure that existing guardrails and covers meet Subdivision M requirements.

Identify fall hazards that you can eliminate. Eliminating a fall hazard is the most effective fall-protection strategy.

Ways to eliminate fall hazards:

Identify fall hazards that you can’t eliminate. If you can’t eliminate fall hazards, you must ensure that someone who does fall doesn’t die.

There are two ways:

Consider administrative practices. Administrative practices help prevent falls by influencing the way people work. Examples include using a safe work practice instead of a risky one, training workers how to safely do their jobs, and disciplining those who don’t follow safe practices.

Determine whether anchorages are necessary. If workers use personal fall-arrest or restraint systems, they’ll need secure anchorages for their lifelines or lanyards. Anchorages for personal fall-arrest systems must be able to support at least 5,000 pounds per attached worker or be designed by a qualified person and have a safety factor of at least two — twice the impact force of a worker free-falling six feet.

Anchorages for personal fall-restraint systems must be able to support at least 3,000 pounds per attached worker or be designed by a qualified person and have a safety factor of at least two — twice the peak anticipated dynamic load.

Consider other factors that could increase the risk of falls. Will workers’ jobs expose them to overhead power lines? Will
they need to use scaffolds, ladders, or aerial lifts on unstable or uneven ground? Will they be working during hot, cold, or
windy weather? Consider ergonomics – will workers need to frequently lift, bend, or move in ways that put them off balance?
Will they be working extended shifts that could contribute to fatigue?

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Anchor 3

Anchor 4

Identify tasks that could expose workers to falls.

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Do not stand

on this step

Unfold ladder

before using

A fall hazard is anything in the workplace that could cause an unintended loss of balance or bodily support and results in a fall. Fall hazards cause accidents such as the following:

A worker walking near the edge of an unprotected and elevated floor, trips over a protruding board.

A worker slips while climbing an icy stairway with no handrail.

A makeshift scaffold collapses under the weight of four workers and their equipment.

A worker carrying a sheet of plywood on a flat roof steps into a skylight opening.

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Involve others. You may need others to help you evaluate fall hazards. Ask workers who may be exposed to fall hazards and their supervisors. Involving others also strengthens your safety program.

Your workers’ compensation insurance carrier will help you evaluate fall hazards. Contact your insurance carrier to request a consultation.

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Contact Oregon OSHA’s Consultative Services Section to schedule a free on-site evaluation, 503-378-3272.

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Determine how workers will access elevated surfaces to do their jobs. Will workers be using portable ladders, supported scaffolds, aerial lifts, or suspension platforms to reach work areas? Which ones will they use? How and where will they use the equipment?

A walking/working surface is any surface – horizontal or vertical – on which a person walks or works.

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Identify hazardous work areas. Determine if workers’ jobs could expose them to the following hazards:

Holes in walking/working surfaces that they could step into or fall through

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Elevated walking/working surfaces 10 feet or more above a lower level

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Skylights and smoke domes that workers could step into or fall through

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Wall openings such as those for windows or doors that workers could fall through

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Trenches and other excavations that are not readily seen and workers could fall into

Walking/working surfaces from which workers could fall onto dangerous equipment

Hoist areas where guardrails have been removed to receive materials

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Sides and edges of walking/working surfaces such as established floors, mezzanines, balconies, and walkways that are six feet or more above a lower level and not protected by guardrails at least 39 inches high

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Ramps and runways that are not protected by guardrails at least 39 inches high

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Leading edges — edges of floors, roofs, and decks — that change location as additional sections are added

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Wells, pits, or shafts not protected with guardrails, fences, barricades, or covers

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Determine how frequently workers will do jobs that expose them to falls. The more frequently a worker is exposed to a fall hazard, the more likely the worker could fall.

Determine whether workers need to move horizontally, vertically, or in both directions to do their jobs. How workers move to perform tasks can affect their risk of falling. Knowing how they move to perform tasks can help you determine how to protect them.

Determine how many workers are exposed to fall hazards. As more workers are exposed to a fall hazard, the more likely it is one could fall.

Identify walking/working surfaces that could expose workers to fall hazards. Examples are floors, roofs, ramps, bridges, runways, formwork, beams, columns, trusses, and rebar.

​

Identify any well, pit, shaft, or other similar excavations 6 feet or more in depth. Use guardrail systems, fences, barricades, or covers to protect any employee who might approach the edge of a well, pit, shaft, or other similar excavation, when the excavation is 6 feet or more in depth.

​

Determine the fall distances from walking/working surfaces to lower levels. Generally, workers performing construction activities must be protected from fall hazards on

walking/working surfaces where they could fall six feet or more to a lower level. Workers must also be protected from falling onto or into dangerous equipment from any distance. However, there are also situations when the trigger height for fall protection is 10 feet or more.

​

Ensure that existing guardrails and covers meet Subdivision M requirements.

Find the requirements for guardrail systems in 1926.502(b).

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Find the requirements for covers in 1926.502(i).

Established floors, mezzanines, balconies, and walkways with unprotected sides and edges

Excavations with edges that are not readily seen because of plant growth or other visual barriers

Wells, pits, shafts, and similar excavations

Workers must also be protected from falling onto or into dangerous equipment from any distance.

​

Ensure that existing guardrails and covers meet Subdivision M requirements.

Find the requirements for guardrail systems in 1926.502(b).

Find the requirements for covers in 1926.502(i).

​

Identify fall hazards that you can eliminate. Eliminating a fall hazard is the most effective fall-protection strategy.

Ways to eliminate fall hazards:

Perform construction work on the ground before lifting or tilting it to an elevated position.

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Install permanent stairs early in the project so that workers don’t need to use ladders between floors.

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Use tool extensions to perform work from the ground.

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Identify fall hazards that you can’t eliminate. If you can’t eliminate fall hazards, you must ensure that someone who does fall doesn’t die.

There are two ways:

Prevent falls with covers, guardrails, handrails, perimeter safety cables, and personal fall-restraint systems.

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Control falls with personal fall-arrest systems, positioning-device systems, and safety-net systems. Use these fall protection systems only when you can’t eliminate fall hazards or prevent falls from occurring.

​

Involve others. You may need others to help you evaluate fall hazards. Ask workers who may be exposed to fall hazards and
their supervisors. Involving others also strengthens your safety program.

Your workers’ compensation insurance carrier will help you evaluate fall hazards. Contact your insurance
carrier to request a consultation.

Determine how workers will access elevated surfaces to do their jobs. Will workers be using portable ladders, supported
scaffolds, aerial lifts, or suspension platforms to reach work areas? Which ones will they use? How and where will they use the equipment?

Determine how frequently workers will do jobs that expose them to falls. The more frequently a worker is exposed to a
fall hazard, the more likely the worker could fall.

Determine how many workers are exposed to fall hazards. As more workers are exposed to a fall hazard, the more likely it
is one could fall.

Determine the fall distances from walking/working surfaces to lower levels. Generally, workers performing construction
activities must be protected from fall hazards on

Control falls with personal fall-arrest systems, positioning-device systems, and safety-net systems. Use these fall
protection systems only when you can’t eliminate fall hazards or prevent falls from occurring.