Fall Protection Standard (29 CFR 1926.500–503) (Subpart M)
Scope and Application
This standard sets forth the requirements and criteria for fall protection in construction work areas covered by this standard. Exception: The provisions of this standard do not apply when employees are making inspection, investigation, or assessment of workplace conditions before the actual start of construction work, or after all construction work has been completed.
Definitions
Anchorage means a secure point of attachment for lifelines, lanyards, or deceleration devices. Anchorage points must be rated to 5,000 lbs per person attached.
Body harness means straps that may be secured about the employee in a manner that will distribute the fall arrest forces over at least the thighs, pelvis, waist, chest, and shoulders with means for attaching it to other components of a personal fall arrest system.
Connector means a device that is used to couple parts of the personal fall arrest system and positioning device systems together.
Controlled access zone means an area in which certain work may take place without the use of guardrail systems, personal fall arrest systems, or safety net systems, and access to the zone is controlled.
Deceleration device means any mechanism, such as a rope grab, rip-stitch lanyard, specially woven lanyard, tearing or deforming lanyards, automatic self-retracting lifelines/lanyards, and so on, which serves to dissipate a substantial amount of energy during a fall arrest, or otherwise limit the energy imposed on an employee during a fall arrest.
Deceleration distance means the additional vertical distance a falling employee travels, excluding lifeline elongation and free fall distance, before stopping, from the point at which the deceleration device begins to operate.
Free fall means the act of falling before a personal fall arrest system begins to apply force to arrest the fall.
Guardrail system means a barrier erected to prevent employees from falling to lower levels.
Lanyard means a flexible line of rope, wire rope, or strap that generally has a connector at each end for connecting the body harness to a deceleration device, lifeline, or anchorage.
Leading edge means the edge of a floor, roof, or formwork for a floor or other walking/working surface, which changes location as additional floor, roof, decking or formwork sections are placed, formed, or constructed. A leading edge is considered to be an “unprotected side and edge” during periods when it is not active and is continuously under construction.
Lifeline means a component consisting of a flexible line for connection to an anchorage at one end to hang vertically (vertical lifeline), or for connection to anchorages at both ends to stretch horizontally (horizontal lifeline), and which serves as a means for connecting other components of a personal fall
arrest system to the anchorage.
Personal fall arrest system means a system used to arrest an employee in a fall from a working level. It consists of an anchorage, connectors, body harness, and may include a lanyard, a deceleration device, a lifeline, or suitable
combinations of these.
Walking/working surface means any surface, whether horizontal or vertical on which an employee walks or works, including, but not limited to, floors, roofs, ramps, bridges, runways, formwork, and concrete reinforcing steel, but not including ladders, vehicles, or trailers, on which employees must be located to perform their duties.
Duty to Have Fall Protection
The employer shall determine if the walking/working surfaces on which its employees are to work have the strength and structural integrity to support employees safely. Employees shall be allowed to work on those surfaces only when the surfaces have the requisite strength and structural integrity. Each employee on a walking/working surface (horizontal and vertical surface) with an unprotected side or edge that is 6 ft or more above a lower level shall be protected from falling by the use of guardrail systems, safety net systems, or personal fall arrest system.
Training
The employer shall provide a training program for each employee who might be exposed to fall hazards. The program shall enable each employee to recognize the hazards of falling and shall train each employee in the procedures to be followed to minimize these hazards. The employer shall assure
that each employee has been trained, as necessary, by a competent person qualified to teach the following information:
Nature of
• fall hazards in the work area
• Correct procedures for erecting, maintaining, disassembling, and inspecting fall protection systems to be used
• Use and operation of guardrail systems, personal fall arrest systems, safety net systems, warning line systems, safety monitoring systems, controlled access zones, and other protection to be used
• Role of each employee in the safety monitoring system in which this system is used
• Limitations on the use of mechanical equipment during the performance of roofing work on low-sloped roofs Correct procedures for the handling and s
• storage of equipment and materials and the erection of overhead protect
• Role of employers in fall protection plans
• Specific requirements of the standard The employer shall verify compliance with the standard by preparing a written certification record.
The written certification record shall contain the name or other identities of the employee trained the date(s) of the training, and the signature of the person who conducted the training or the signature of the employer.
The latest training certificate shall be maintained. When the employer has reason to believe that any affected employee who has already been trained does not have the understanding and the skill required to work safely, the employer shall retrain each such employee, or whenever new equipment or systems are installed.
Scope and Application
This standard sets forth the requirements and criteria for fall protection in construction work areas covered by this standard. Exception: The provisions of this standard do not apply when employees are making inspection, investigation, or assessment of workplace conditions before the actual start of construction work, or after all construction work has been completed.
Definitions
Anchorage means a secure point of attachment for lifelines, lanyards, or deceleration devices. Anchorage points must be rated to 5,000 lbs per person attached.
Body harness means straps that may be secured about the employee in a manner that will distribute the fall arrest forces over at least the thighs, pelvis, waist, chest, and shoulders with means for attaching it to other components of a personal fall arrest system.
Connector means a device that is used to couple parts of the personal fall arrest system and positioning device systems together.
Controlled access zone means an area in which certain work may take place without the use of guardrail systems, personal fall arrest systems, or safety net systems, and access to the zone is controlled.
Deceleration device means any mechanism, such as a rope grab, rip-stitch lanyard, specially woven lanyard, tearing or deforming lanyards, automatic self-retracting lifelines/lanyards, and so on, which serves to dissipate a substantial amount of energy during a fall arrest, or otherwise limit the energy imposed on an employee during a fall arrest.
Deceleration distance means the additional vertical distance a falling employee travels, excluding lifeline elongation and free fall distance, before stopping, from the point at which the deceleration device begins to operate.
Free fall means the act of falling before a personal fall arrest system begins to apply force to arrest the fall.
Guardrail system means a barrier erected to prevent employees from falling to lower levels.
Lanyard means a flexible line of rope, wire rope, or strap that generally has a connector at each end for connecting the body harness to a deceleration device, lifeline, or anchorage.
Leading edge means the edge of a floor, roof, or formwork for a floor or other walking/working surface, which changes location as additional floor, roof, decking or formwork sections are placed, formed, or constructed. A leading edge is considered to be an “unprotected side and edge” during periods when it is not active and is continuously under construction.
Lifeline means a component consisting of a flexible line for connection to an anchorage at one end to hang vertically (vertical lifeline), or for connection to anchorages at both ends to stretch horizontally (horizontal lifeline), and which serves as a means for connecting other components of a personal fall
arrest system to the anchorage.
Personal fall arrest system means a system used to arrest an employee in a fall from a working level. It consists of an anchorage, connectors, body harness, and may include a lanyard, a deceleration device, a lifeline, or suitable
combinations of these.
Walking/working surface means any surface, whether horizontal or vertical on which an employee walks or works, including, but not limited to, floors, roofs, ramps, bridges, runways, formwork, and concrete reinforcing steel, but not including ladders, vehicles, or trailers, on which employees must be located to perform their duties.
Duty to Have Fall Protection
The employer shall determine if the walking/working surfaces on which its employees are to work have the strength and structural integrity to support employees safely. Employees shall be allowed to work on those surfaces only when the surfaces have the requisite strength and structural integrity. Each employee on a walking/working surface (horizontal and vertical surface) with an unprotected side or edge that is 6 ft or more above a lower level shall be protected from falling by the use of guardrail systems, safety net systems, or personal fall arrest system.
Training
The employer shall provide a training program for each employee who might be exposed to fall hazards. The program shall enable each employee to recognize the hazards of falling and shall train each employee in the procedures to be followed to minimize these hazards. The employer shall assure
that each employee has been trained, as necessary, by a competent person qualified to teach the following information:
Nature of
• fall hazards in the work area
• Correct procedures for erecting, maintaining, disassembling, and inspecting fall protection systems to be used
• Use and operation of guardrail systems, personal fall arrest systems, safety net systems, warning line systems, safety monitoring systems, controlled access zones, and other protection to be used
• Role of each employee in the safety monitoring system in which this system is used
• Limitations on the use of mechanical equipment during the performance of roofing work on low-sloped roofs Correct procedures for the handling and s
• storage of equipment and materials and the erection of overhead protect
• Role of employers in fall protection plans
• Specific requirements of the standard The employer shall verify compliance with the standard by preparing a written certification record.
The written certification record shall contain the name or other identities of the employee trained the date(s) of the training, and the signature of the person who conducted the training or the signature of the employer.
The latest training certificate shall be maintained. When the employer has reason to believe that any affected employee who has already been trained does not have the understanding and the skill required to work safely, the employer shall retrain each such employee, or whenever new equipment or systems are installed.
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