Taking Fall Protection Personally

The risk of being injured or killed in a fall is present in virtually every kind of workplace. It can occur in many forms, from standing on a ladder while changing a light bulb to connecting bolts on steel girders far above the ground.

Any time workers are at a height of six feet (two meters) or more, they are at risk and need to be protected. The two ways of accomplishing this are engineering controls and fall protection equipment.

Engineering controls can be as simple as moving the work to ground level and eliminating the height factor. Or they can mean the addition of platforms, railings and toe boards to provide permanent, secure access to elevated areas and devices.

Toe boards are put in place along the edges of work platforms, mezzanine floors etc. to prevent small objects such as hammers and other tools from falling from one elevation to another.