1.0 PURPOSE
The purpose of this procedure is to establish guidelines to assure Nitro Construction Services employees are provided adequate protection against falls from elevations and falls into water hazards.
2.0 RESPONSIBILITY
It is the responsibility of the Site Manager/Superintendent to assure that the requirements of this procedure are met.
3.0 REFERENCES:
29 CFR 1926.500, 501, 502, 503
29 CFR 1926.104, 105, 106, 107
4.0 DEFINITIONS
4.1 Anchorage – A secure point of attachment for lifelines, lanyards, or deceleration devices.
4.2 Body Harness – Straps which 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.
4.3 Connector – A device that is used to couple (connect) parts of the personal fall arrest system and positioning device systems together. It may be an independent component of the system or it may be an integral part of the system.
4.4 Controlled Access Zone – 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.
4.5 Deceleration Device – Any mechanism, such as a rope grab, rip-stitch lanyard, specialty-woven lanyard, tearing or deforming lanyards, automatic self-retracting lifelines/lanyards, etc., which serves to dissipate a substantial amount of energy during a fall arrest, or otherwise limit the energy imposed on an employee during fall arrest.
4.6 Deceleration Distance – 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.
4.7 Failure – load refusal, breakage, or separation of parts. Load refusal is the point where the ultimate strength is exceeded.
4.8 Free Fall – the act of falling before a personal fall arrest system begins to apply force to arrest the fall.
4.9 Lanyard – A rope, cable, or other flexible material of the appropriate length and strength suitable for supporting one person. One end is fastened to a safety belt or harness and the other end is secured to a substantial object or safety line.
4.10 Lifeline – 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), suitable for supporting one person, to which a lanyard or safety belt/harness is attached.
4.11 Personal Fall Arrest System – A system used to arrest an employee in a fall from a working level.
4.12 Retractable Lanyard – A fall protection lanyard that automatically catches when a fall force is exerted on it, to be considered when standard fall protection will not provide adequate clearance between employee and work surface should a fall occur.
4.13 Self-Retracting Lifeline/Lanyard – a deceleration device containing a drum-wound line which can be slowly extracted from, or retracted from, or retracted onto, the drum under slight tension during normal employee movement, and which, after the onset of a fall, automatically locks the drum and arrests a fall.
4.14 Standard Guard Rail – A barrier erected along exposed edges of a floor opening, wall opening, ramp, platform, or runway to prevent employees from falling to lower levels.
4.15 Static Line – An approved flexible line (rope), attached at two points, to which a lanyard may be attached.
5.0 PROCEDURE
5.1 Fall Protection Requirements
5.1.1 All work that will expose an employee to falls of 6 feet or greater, including low-pitched built-up roofing shall require fall protection.
5.1.2 All work that requires employees to work above or near water, where the danger of drowning exists, shall be provided with U. S. coast guard approved life jackets or buoyant life vests.
5.2 Each employee who is constructing a leading edge 6 feet or more above lower levels shall be protected from falling by guardrail systems, safety net systems, or personal fall arrest systems.
5.3 Each employee on a walking/working surface 6 feet or more above a lower level where leading edges are under construction, but who is not engaged in the leading edge work, shall be protected from falling by a guardrail system, safety net system, or personal fall arrest system.
5.4 Before the start of work, the Superintendent shall determine if the walking/working surfaces on which employees are to work have the strength and structural integrity to support the employees safely.
5.5 Before the start of any operation, the Superintendent will assess the work areas, access routes, and equipment/material storage areas to assure adequate fall protection, as required per this procedure.
5.4 Each employee on a walking/working surface with an unprotected side or edge which is 6 feet or more above a lower level shall be protected from falling by the use of guardrail systems, safety net systems, or personal fall arrest systems (PFA’s). The preferred system will always be standard guardrails.
5.4.1 Standard guard rails shall consist of the top rail, intermediate rail, toe board, and posts, and have a vertical height of approximately 42 inches (plus or minus 3 inches) to the upper surface of the top rail from floor level.
5.4.2 Midrails must be installed at a height midway between the top edge of the guardrail system and the walking/working surface.
5.4.3 Toeboards will be securely fastened with a minimum of 3 inches vertical height and maximum 1/4-inch floor clearance.
5.4.4 Guardrail systems must be capable of withstanding a force of at least 200 pounds applied within 2 inches of the top edge, in any outward direction at any point along the top edge.
5.5 If a fall hazard exists and conventional fall protection systems cannot be used, a written fall protection plan must be developed by the qualified person and approved by the Safety Department. These areas must be identified and classified as Controlled Access Zones.
5.6 Where no other alternative methods can be implemented, a Safety Monitoring System may be used only with the approval of the Safety Department. A written fall protection plan shall be developed by the Qualified Person and approved by the Safety Department. The Superintendent will assign a competent person to monitor the safety of the employees.
5.7 The competent person assigned to the task of monitoring the work will be responsible for the following:
5.7.1 Recognizing fall hazards.
5.7.2 Warn employees if they are unaware of a fall hazard or are acting in an unsafe manner.
5.7.3 Be on the same working surface and in visual sight of the work.
5.7.4 Stay close enough for oral communication.
5.7.5 Not have other assignments that would take the monitor’s attention from the monitoring function.
5.8 When purchasing equipment and raw materials for use in fall protection systems applicable ANSI & ASTM requirements shall be met.
6.0 HARNESSES AND LANYARD REQUIREMENTS
6.1 Inspect equipment before each use (See Section 7.0 for inspection requirements). Remove defective or questionable equipment immediately from service.
6.2 Wear harnesses as snug as possible.
6.3 Lanyards are a maximum of 6-feet long with a built-in shock absorber and a locking snap. The locking snap is to prevent roll out.
6.4 When the fall distance to the surface is less than 15 feet, a retractable lanyard should be used. When considering fall distances, the lanyard length, the body height, and shock-absorbing lanyards, the stopping distance must be considered.
6.5 When using a retractable lanyard, consideration must be given for swing potential. For example, if a user anchors to a point and uses a 20-foot retractable and then walks 15 feet out with the ground only 10-feet below, the retractable lanyard will not prevent contact with the ground. In this situation, the user should not walk more than four feet from the anchor point (four feet plus six foot body length) to ensure that he will not hit the ground before the retractable lanyard stops his fall.
6.6 Never choke a lanyard to itself unless it is designed to do so. When necessary, use an approved anchoring device manufactured for this purpose such as a cross-arm strap, wire hoop, D-bolt, etc.
6.7 Avoid working or climbing above the tie-off points when possible so you don’t fall to the tie-off point plus the lanyard length.
6.8 When a personal fall arrest system is used at hoist areas, it shall be rigged to allow the movement of the employee only as far as the edge of the walking/working surface.
6.9 Make sure your lanyard attachment is at the center of your back when wearing a harness for fall protection. The harness is more likely to cause spinal injury in a fall if worn in any other position.
6.10 Choose suitable anchorage points. Take into consideration swing potential, strength, sharp edges, etc. The anchor point should be able to withstand 5000 pounds of fall force. Suitable equipment includes structural beams, supported large-diameter pipe, crane, and boom truck booms. The following equipment and structure should not be used for an anchorage point:
6.10.1 Small diameter pipe
6.10.2 Conduit
6.10.3 Cable trays
6.10.4 Handrails, top rails, and mid-rails
6.10.5 Any anchorage being used to support or suspend platforms.
6.11 Never use fall protection equipment for lifting or pulling other objects.
6.12 Do not use tool belts that have a “D” ring on the side for fall protection.
6.13 Take out of service and destroy any fall protection equipment subjected to an actual fall.
6.14 Assure that there is a means to promptly recognize that a fall has occurred and to summons rescue services or assure that employees can rescue themselves.
7.0 HARNESSES AND LANYARDS INSPECTION REQUIREMENTS
7.1 The wearer must carefully inspect the harness and lanyard for any indications of wear or deterioration before each use. Look very carefully for any evidence that the material or assembly has been weakened. At a minimum, look for webbing cuts, abrasion, burns, and chemical or physical exposures that may have weakened the material. Check for pulled rivets or grommets and loose, broken, cut, or burned threads
7.2 Examine hardware for evidence of nicks, cracks, distortion, or corrosion.
7.3 Inspect lanyards and securing lines for abraded, broken, cut, or burned fibers, and for evidence of chemical or physical exposures that may have weakened the material or assembly. Splicing should be tight with no loose strands. Splice rope lanyards directly to the belt through an integral rope loop, a “D” ring, or to a snap hook for attachment to the “D” ring.
7.4 Inspect snaps for hook and eye distortion, cracks, corrosion, or pitted surfaces. The gate (latch) should seat into the nose without binding and should not be distorted or obstructed. The gate spring should exert sufficient force to firmly close the keeper. If the gate does not close, remove it from service. If a double-locking snap is used, the thumb-lock spring should exert sufficient force to return the thumb-lock to its original position and force the gate closed
7.5 All Fall Protection Equipment utilized by Company Employees shall be inspected bi-annually by a Competent Person. Verification of this inspection shall be designated by a color-coding system. See the Color Coding Chart on the following page.
7.6 IF ANY EVIDENCE OF EXCESS WEAR OR DETERIORATION IS OBSERVED, REPLACE IT WITH NEW EQUIPMENT. FAILURE TO INSPECT EQUIPMENT CAREFULLY AND COMPLETELY MAY RESULT IN SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH.
8.0 SAFETY NETS
8.1 Safety nets shall be provided when workplaces are more than 25 feet above the ground or water surface and all other means of fall protection are impractical.
8.2 Nets shall extend 8 feet beyond the edge of the work surface where employees are exposed and shall be installed as close under the work surface as practical but in no case more than 25 feet below such work surface.
8.3 Nets shall be hung with sufficient clearance to prevent user’s contact with the surfaces or structures below.
8.4 Defective nets shall not be used. Safety nets shall be inspected at least once a week for wear, damage, and other deterioration. Defective components shall be removed from service.
9.0 WORKING OVER OR NEAR WATER
9.1 Employees working over or near water, where the danger of drowning exists, shall be provided with U. S. coast guard approved life jackets or buoyant work vests.
9.2 Before and after each shift, life vests or jackets shall be inspected for defects that may alter buoyancy. Defective units shall not be used.
9.3 Ring buoys with at least 90 feet of the line shall be available for emergency rescue. Distance between buoys shall not exceed 200 feet.
9.4 At least one lifesaving skiff shall be immediately available at the location.
10.0 TRAINING REQUIREMENTS
10.1 A training program shall be provided to each employee who has the potential for exposure 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.
10.2 The employer shall assure that each employee has been trained, as necessary, by a competent person qualified in the following areas:
10.2.1 The nature of fall hazards in the work area.
10.2.2 The correct procedures for erecting, maintaining, disassembling, and inspecting the fall protection systems to be used
10.2.3 The 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
10.2.4 The role of each employee in the safety monitoring system when this system is used
10.2.5 The limitations on the use of mechanical equipment during the performance of roofing work on low-sloped roofs (as applicable).
10.2.6 The correct procedures for the handling and storage of equipment and materials and the erection of overhead protection
10.2.7 The role of employees in the fall protection plans.
10.2.8 The OSHA standards about fall protection.
10.3 Certification of Training
10.3.1 The employer shall verify compliance with the requirements of training by preparing a written certification record.
10.3.2 The written certification record shall contain the name or other identity 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.
10.4 The latest training certification shall be maintained.
10.5 When the employer has reason to believe that any affected employee who has already been trained does not have the understanding and skill required, shall retrain each such employee. Circumstances where retraining is required include, but are not limited to:
10.5.1 Changes in the workplace render previous training obsolete or inadequate.
10.5.2 Changes in the type of fall protection systems or equipment to be used render previous training obsolete.
10.5.3 Inadequacies in an affected employee’s knowledge or use of fall protection systems or equipment indicate the employee has not retained the requisite understanding or skill.
10.6 All accidents and serious incidents (near accidents) must be investigated, implementing changes to the fall protection plan if necessary.
10.7 Appendices:
10.7.1 NCS Form 032 – Fall Protection Inspection Checklist
10.7.2 NCS Form 033 – Fall Protection Inspection – Color Coding Chart