Current Events – Fall Protection, safety and health
Science
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1 current events- fall protection
Discuss , a fall protection incident, this can be a firsthand event or a current event you find in the news or on a safety magazine website:
- Identify who was involved (you don’t have to name names);
- Identify the hazardous condition or hazardous act that resulted in an accident;
- Identify the injury that resulted due to the accident; and
- Discuss the costs of the incident – lost time, medical costs, physical pain/suffering, etc.
Make at least two response posts to other learners in the class. After reading their incident description, discuss control measures that could have prevented the incidents.
2 FALL PROTECTION
Under 29 CFR 1926.501, Duty to Have Fall Protection, employers are required to protect their employees on a walking/working surface (horizontal and vertical) with an unprotected side or edge which is 6 feet or more above a lower level from falling by the use of guardrail systems, safety net systems, or personal fall arrest systems. Furthermore, employers are required to protect their employees engaged in constructing a leading edge 6 feet or more above lower levels.Review 29 CFR 1926 Subpart M: Fall Protection standards, as listed in the resource link back to OSHA ‘s Fall Protection topic page, and focus on preventing a worker from falling from heights.Apply the regulations to the following scenario:A 6-foot-tall construction worker was exposed to a fall distance of 20 feet to the ground on a job site. To protect the worker from falls, the employers required the use of a personal fall arrest system (PFAS). The PFAS equipment consists of the following:
- a body belt
- an 8-foot lanyard with deceleration pack
- a piece of rope tied to a beam overhead as the anchor point
- the beam is approximately 8 feet above the working surface and 28 feet to the ground
- the lanyard is attached to the rope and the body belt with non-locking snap hooks
Identify the five hazards in this arrangement and make detailed recommendations to correct the problems. Cite the regulations that substantiate your recommendations.
3 PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT CASE STUDY
Under 29 CFR 1926 Subpart E: Personal Protective and Life Saving Equipment standards, OSHA regulates ppe used in the workplace. In this standard, employers are responsible for requiring the wearing of appropriate personal protective equipment in all operations where there is an exposure to hazardous conditions or where the OSHA standards indicate the need for using PPE equipment to reduce the hazards to the employees. Examples of PPE covered under Subpart E of the OSHA Standards include eye protection, hearing protection, head protection and respiratory protection.
Apply the regulations to the following scenarios and recommend the appropriate PPE, the OSHA Standard that applies, and a method that can be used to determine if a piece of PPE meets the OSHA Standards:- A construction worker could be exposed to falling debris that could strike him in the head.
- An employee is engaged in a chipping task. Flying materials could strike him in the eye.
- An employee is exposed to hazards to his feet. The hazards include stepping on sharp objects and impact hazards from falling objects.
- An employee is exposed to noise levels that are in excess of the allowable levels under the OSHA standards.
- A construction employee is exposed to harmful dusts. Engineering control measures were instituted, but the employee is being exposed to levels above OSHA’s permissible exposure limit (PEL).
