September 14th – 20th 2020
What is the National Safety Stand Down?
The National Fall Prevention Safety Stand-Down was conceived by OSHA in 2014 as part of the National Falls Campaign to raise awareness surrounding the severity of fall hazards in construction and the importance of preventing them.
In a construction setting, the term “safety stand-down” is used to describe a wide variety of activities where normal work is paused and the entire site focuses on a particular safety issue. This should also be an opportunity for workers to talk to management about fall hazards they see.
You are encouraged to talk about specific fall hazard topics each day. Here is a breakdown of each day’s topics:
Day 1 – Ladders: falls from ladders make up nearly a third of fall from elevation deaths nationally.
- Use a ladder in the manner that it is supposed to be used
- Set your ladder at the correct angle – 4 to 1
- Secure the ladder from movement when climbing or working from it
- Extend ladder 3 feet above a landing
Day 2 – Fall Protection systems: fall protection is classified as either “arrest” or “restraint” and each has its own specification.
Personal fall protection (arrest) includes a harness, anchorage with a lifeline/lanyard
“Restraint” methods include guardrails, hole covers and warning lines and have their own requirements.
- Your personal fall protection system needs to be inspected before use
- Your anchorages need to strong enough to hold the loads imposed on them
- A competent person needs to inspect and train workers in the competent person is.
Day 3 – Roofs: most falls occur from workers on a roof, though falls occur from all elevations and surfaces. While on the roof, have a heightened awareness of the roof surfaces you are working on and use your fall protection correctly .
- 1st man up needs to establish and remove the anchorages for fall protection for personal fall protection
- Warning lines should be used and typically should be at least 15 feet from the open sided surfaces on low pitched surfaces
- Make sure a fall protection plan is filled out, that everyone has been trained and everyone exposed to the fall has their name recorded, this verifies that training took place.
Day 4 – Floor and wall openings; all hole and wall penetrations need to be protected. Openings can be very hazardous and when a guardrail or floor hole cover are missing.
- Holes and floor/wall openings must be guarded either by a guardrail system or a cover
- Guardrails should be able to take 200 lbs. of force outwardly or downward, toes boards need to be installed when overhead hazards exist
- Covers must be strong enough with a safety factor of 4
Day 5 – Slips and Trips – falls to the same elevation may seem minimal, but can be just as catastrophic and have the same effect as a fall from a greater height
- Housekeeping is key in keeping slips trips and falls to a minimum. Keep work areas clear of debris
- Extension cords, cables, and the like need to be covered or raised so as not become a tripping hazard
- Surfaces can become slippery due to weather, chemicals and even dust
Promote. Tell crew leaders, workers and affected contractors about your plans to focus on fall prevention during Safety Stand-Down Week.
Provide. Get resources for the Safety Stand-Down Week Ready-to-use resources are available at www.Lni.wa.gov/StopFalls
Hold your Stand-Down. Afterwards, ask participants what worked best and get more ideas for next year’s Stand-Down.
Get recognition. Go to www.Lni.wa.gov/StopFalls to add your company to the list of 2020 Safety Stand-Down supporters an print out your Certificate of Participation.