Understanding OSHA’s Fall Prevention Campaign: Step 1 – Plan

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When your employees report to work, they’re not spending the day sitting behind a desk in a cushy office chair — they’re doing potentially hazardous work on a jobsite. As a caring employer, you want everyone to go home safe and sound at the end of the day, so you must have proper safety precautions in place.

Falls are the number one cause of death in construction, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). During the 2014 calendar year, falls accounted for 359 deaths in construction, from a total of 899 — an overwhelming 40%. These tragic accidents are completely preventable, and they need to stop right now.

OSHA’s Fall Prevention Campaign

In an effort to prevent falls and save lives, OSHA and the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) have partnered to create a fall prevention campaign to educate employers and workers on ways to avoid these tragedies. The campaign includes three steps — plan, provide, and train — and a variety of educational resources to help keep everyone safe on jobsites.

The first part of the campaign involves properly planning ahead to accomplish all work safely. Specific guidelines have been created to help employers keep workers safe when working from heights, including ladders, scaffolds, and roofs. These guiding principles involve:

  • Starting each project by determining how each job will be completed. This includes the tasks workers’ must accomplish and the safety equipment needed to do it properly.
  • Including safety equipment in the estimated cost of each job.
  • Planning ahead to make sure all necessary safety equipment and tools are present at construction sites.

Keeping workers safe may increase the total cost of the project, but this is a small price to pay to avoid injuries and tragic accidents. As an employer, you’re responsible for keeping your team safe, so don’t let them down. Spending a little extra time and energy to make your construction sites safe and secure is an investment you’ll never regret.

Keep up with the latest OSHA standards by regularly checking the MAC Incorporated blog. Our niche-based recruiting and staffing firm strongly believes worker safety should be every employer’s top priority. Contact us today to find industry-leading engineering, maintenance, or operations management professionals to join your team!