3 Ways of Preventing Falls in the Workplace
Construction deaths resulting from falls are commons, despite being preventable. It is estimated that more than 30 percent of fatalities in the construction industry are due to falls. Statistics also show that most of the falls were just six feet. More data shows that over 10,000 construction workers are injured due to falls every year.
The business suffers more than just from the fall or death of a worker. In the country, medical costs and workers' compensation related to falls in the workplace are estimated to reach over $70 billion every year. Moreover, the project will end up having fewer workers, and this may mean not being completed on time. While you can always recruit and train new workers, this may take quite some time. Finally, when workers see one of their colleagues injured or dead due to a fall, their productivity and morale can significantly drop.
With all these costs, businesses should take measure to prevent occupational falls, even from a relatively short height.
The national occupational safety authorities have provided some guidelines meant to prevent falls. The guidelines cover three area: planning, providing and training.
It is important to plan ahead to get the job done safely. When planning any project or job, find out the portions that will require workers to be at heights, from roofs, scaffolds, ladders and others. Determine the training and safety equipment that may be required to ensure the workers are safe for those job portions.
Providing the right safety guard rails equipment is the next step in preventing occupational falls. Proper fall protection equipment and gear such as scaffolds and ladders should be used by workers who are six feet or more above a lower level. There are different scaffolds and ladders meant for different jobs. Choose the right ones for the job.
Workers that are assigned for a job that requires used of personal fall arrest systems (PFAS) should have a harness. Before issuing out any equipment, inspect it to determine whether it's in good order.
Everyone should be trained on using the fall protection systems safely. An equipment won't help to prevent falls if it is not used correctly. All your workers should know how to correctly set up and use FPAS, scaffolds, ladders and other safety equipment they may need. There are various safety training courses you can enroll your workers for to educate them on workplace fall hazards.
The above are three steps you can follow to prevent occupational falls.