Safety
Risk
Culture

Five Ways to Build a Culture of Height Safety

Falls are OSHA’s most frequently cited violation, but there are ways to prevent falls and create a culture of height safety.
By Baxter Byrd
April 15, 2019
Topics
Safety
Risk
Culture

Everyone likes being first – except when OSHA releases its annual “Top 10 Most Frequently Cited Standards” list. Year after year, fall protection infractions continue to top this ignoble list, much to the frustration of height safety professionals and business owners alike. Height-related safety incidents interrupt work progress, cost millions of dollars in fines and sadly, cause more than 350 deaths per year on average. 2018 saw 7,720 fall-related citations, a remarkable jump from 6,887 in 2017 and 6,906 in 2016 – all of which were preventable. There is clearly room for improvement.

According to the National Transportation Safety Board, there is a 90.1 percent chance people will buckle their seatbelt. That number of course wasn’t always so high. According to a report by Texas A&M Transportation Institute, as recently as 1992 only 68 percent of Texas drivers buckled up. What caused the change? In short: the culture. Through heavy ad campaigns like the familiar Buckle Up and Click It or Ticket, over time, seatbelt use has become more than the norm: it has become culturally unacceptable not to use one.

Safety professionals can also take advantage of positive cultural pressure on the jobsite by creating their own culture of safety around fall protection. Here are five ways to do it.

Toolbox Talks

Toolbox talks are small, informal meetings in which managers and employees can discuss any number of safety topics. For the fall protection professional, these are great opportunities to issue reminders regarding appropriate anchor points, compatible connecting devices (self-retracting lanyards, fixed-length lanyards, etc.) and calculating proper fall clearance.

Workers often work on multiple jobsites over a given span of time, and a jobsite-specific rule found on one jobsite, might be different on the next. A toolbox talk allows workers the opportunity to clarify site-specific regulations that may differ from their previous project.

They are also an excellent, non-punitive way to call out infractions noticed by managers or onsite competent persons before an inspector can levy a fine (or worse). Bringing attention to an issue and giving workers the opportunity to remedy the problem without penalty (thus saving face) can encourage better diligence the next time.

OSHA Stand Down Event

OSHA’s National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction is the toolbox talk’s big brother. The Stand Down is a growing national movement that happens for an entire week each spring, with the 2019 event occurring May 6-10. Events can vary widely in size from a handful of workers at a local residential site, to more than a thousand at larger commercial jobsites complete with catering and even entertainment! Safety managers are encouraged to develop a daily plan to maximize the effectiveness of these important events.

Because every jobsite is unique, topics of discussion should be tailored to match local conditions. Popular technical topics can include:

  • proper harness donning and adjustment;
  • knowing which connector is most preferred for a given application;
  • proper anchor selection; and
  • developing a robust and effective rescue plan.

Rescue plans are often overlooked due to their relatively infrequent use, but ensuring there is a plan in place and the equipment needed is easily accessible is a critical component of a complete fall protection plan.

Other topics can include local policies that may supersede regional or even national regulations, dropped object prevention, equipment inspection and storage, ladder safety or even health-related topics such as dehydration or overall wellness. Conversation topics are essentially unlimited; get with the safety team, pick the ones most applicable to the jobsite and gather the troops.

Jobsite Visits from Vendors

If there’s anything fall protection manufacturers like to do it’s to show off their latest gear. Many manufacturers have mobile vans complete with a stock of products including harnesses, fixed-length lanyards, self-retracting lanyards and anchorage connectors for workers to get their hands on. Many of these vans also include a scaled-down drop tower to demonstrate various functions of fall protection equipment. Let’s face it, workers may think they know how a specific piece of gear arrests a fall to protect them, but very few have ever seen a rip-stitch shock absorber in action, or been hoisted into the air by their harnesses dorsal D-ring to feel what it’s like to suspend after a fall and experience how vitally important harness fit is.

Social Media/Newsletters

In this connected world, information on any conceivable subject is flowing at a nearly incomprehensible rate, and height safety is no different. Take advantage of the wealth of information by engaging with safety organizations such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the American Society of Safety Professionals, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health or any industry-specific organizations that may affect construction. Standards and regulatory organizations announce updates as they become available, which may result in changes that may affect the way a jobsite is run.

It’s also a good idea to stay in touch with product manufacturers via their social media platforms or newsletters. Not only will they send notification of the newest products, tips and tricks, or other technical information, but also on products the company may already be using.

Training/Education

When it comes to building awareness of height safety applications and their solutions, nothing beats hands-on training. As the saying goes, “The mind, once stretched to a new idea, never returns to its original dimension.” Nothing could be truer when it comes to height safety. Once a worker learns how to correctly identify a fall hazard and has the knowledge to mitigate that hazard through the proper use of application-specific equipment, the less likely they will be to overlook the proper solution in favor of an incorrect one. Additionally, the less likely they will be to permit others to choose an incorrect solution for a given application. And while it is advisable to not rely on viral (worker-to-worker) training as compared to individually trained workers, better trained workers increase the opportunity for safety decisions to be made by informed and expanded minds, not by those that lack the requisite knowledge to assess the situation accurately.

Look for training curriculum and classes developed by reputable fall protection professionals that engage with industry standard regulations and requirements, and that preferably include a hands-on component. Specific classes may include:

  • fall protection awareness;
  • authorized person;
  • competent person;
  • authorized rescue;
  • equipment inspector; or
  • confined space entry rescue.

Of course, this list is not exhaustive and the individual components of each class will vary by the provider, so be sure to request detailed information to ensure they meet the company's (and worker's) specific needs.

by Baxter Byrd
Baxter Byrd is a technical writer with Pure Safety Group, the world’s largest independent provider of fall protection equipment and training. His primary mission is translating dense regulatory standards to increase understanding and practical applicability. When he’s not writing, he’s reading. Byrd holds a B.A. in Communication from the University of Washington.

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