Falling Hazards

More than 800 construction workers die every year while on the job. Falls are the number one cause of fatalities in construction. Falls cause one of every three construction worker deaths. These falls happen in a split second while workers are on roofs, scaffolds, ladders, bridges, and other work surfaces. But these deaths can be prevented.

The video you are about to see shows how quickly falls at construction sites can lead to workers'deaths. The video will also show what employers must do so that the work can be done more safely. Employers have a responsibility to provide a safe workplace and required protective equipment. You'll see that using the right type of fall protection saves lives.

Please be advised. The scenes you are about to see deal with deaths at construction sites and might be disturbing for some people. All scenes are based on true stories.

Two workers were installing deck pans onto a bridge. They were not wearing any personal fall protection and there was no safety net below the bridge. One of the workers was preparing to weld the next deck pan into place.

While walking toward a deck pan that needed to be secured, the worker tripped and fell onto an unsecured deck pan. The deck pan slid away from her, creating an opening. She fell for 75 feet, landing on the ground below. She died instantly from her injuries.

Let's look at the events leading up to this tragic incident, and see how it could have been prevented. The workers had no fall protection, which OSHA requires the employer provide when working at heights of 15 feet and above.

Let's see what happens when these workers use fall protection. Now there is a temporary horizontal lifeline attached along the beams. Each worker wears a full-body harness and connects to the lifeline using a self-retractable lanyard with self rescue capabilities The horizontal lifeline system can use two or more anchors connected to one of the concrete beams. Once attached to the beam, a cable is run between the anchors, and the lanyard is connected to the cable.

As before, while walking toward a deck pan that needed to be secured, the worker tripped and fell onto an unsecured deck pan. The horizontal lifeline stops her from falling to the ground. The worker is lowered slowly to the ground.

Another way to protect these workers is to use a safety net. So now, when the worker trips and falls onto the unsecured deck pan, the net stops her from falling to the ground.

This example shows the importance of employers following OSHA's fall protection standards to ensure that workers are provided with a safe workplace. These types of construction deaths are preventable. The fall protection measures shown here save workers' lives.

Use fall protection on the job: it could be the difference between life and death.

If you would like more information, contact OSHA at www.osha.gov or 1-800-321-OSHA that's 1-800-321-6742.

In the U.S., more than 800 construction workers die every year while on the job. Falls are the number one cause of fatalities in construction. Falls cause one of every three construction worker deaths. These falls happen in a split second while workers are on roofs, scaffolds, ladders, bridges, and other work surfaces. But these deaths can be prevented.

The video you are about to see shows how quickly falls at construction sites can lead to workers' deaths. The video will also show what employers must do so that the work can be done more safely. Employers have a responsibility to provide a safe workplace and required protective equipment. You'll see that using the right type of fall protection saves lives.

Please be advised. The scenes you are about to see deal with deaths at construction sites and might be disturbing for some people. All scenes are based on true stories.

A worker was installing vinyl siding on a two-story townhome. He was standing on a ladder that was placed on top of a scaffold. A co-worker was on the scaffold cutting pieces of siding. The scaffold had no guardrails. The workers were not wearing any fall protection.

While standing on the top step of the ladder, the worker putting up siding overreached to one side and the ladder overturned. He fell nearly 20 feet and landed on the driveway below. He died later that day from injuries caused by the fall.

Let's look at the events leading up to this tragic incident, and see how it could have been prevented. Originally, the worker installing siding was standing on a ladder that was placed on top of a scaffold. This is a very serious and dangerous OSHA violation.

Also, there was no fall protection for these workers. OSHA requires employers to provide workers with fall protection when they are working on scaffolds more than 10 feet above a lower level.

Let's look again at the worker installing siding. But now, the worker is standing on a fully-decked pump-jack scaffold. It has guardrails at the top, middle, and ends. So, instead of being at risk from falling while installing siding, this worker is now protected from fall hazards.

This example shows the importance of following OSHA's fall protection standards. These types of construction deaths are preventable. The fall protection measures shown here save workers' lives.

Use fall protection on the job: it could be the difference between life and death.

If you would like more information, contact OSHA at www.osha.gov or 1-800-321-OSHA that's 1-800-321-6742

More than 800 construction workers die every year while on the job. Falls are the number one cause of fatalities in construction. Falls cause one of every three construction worker deaths. These falls happen in a split second while workers are on roofs, scaffolds, ladders, bridges, and other work surfaces. But these deaths can be prevented. The video you are about to see shows how quickly falls at construction sites can lead to workers'deaths. The video will also show what employers must do so that the work can be done more safely. Employers have a responsibility to provide a safe workplace and required protective equipment. You'll see that using the right type of fall protection saves lives.

Please be advised. The scenes you are about to see deal with deaths at construction sites and might be disturbing for some people. All scenes are based on true stories. Two workers were framing the walls of a new two-story house with a basement.

They were working on the second floor near an open stairwell. There was no guardrail or floor cover, and the workers were not wearing personal fall protection. After framing one section of a wall, the workers raised it and moved forward to put it into place. While moving forward, one of the workers stepped towards the unguarded stairwell to hold the side of the wall section.

He fell down the unguarded stairwell opening. He fell 20 feet and landed on the concrete basement floor. He died from fatal head and internal injuries. Let's look at the events leading up to this tragic incident, and see how it could have been prevented. Originally, the workers were nailing in the boards to frame a section of the new wall, and the stairwell was not protected by a guardrail. Now, the stairwell is protected by a guardrail as required by OSHA.

As before, the workers are moving forward to install the completed wall section. This time, as the worker steps toward the stairwell, the guardrail stops him; he continues forward to place the framed section in place. Another way to protect workers is by putting a proper cover over the stairwell opening.

The cover must be secure. As shown here, the worker steps onto the cover and continues to put the section in place.

This example shows the importance of following OSHA's fall protection standards. These types of construction deaths are preventable. The fall protection measures shown here save workers' lives.

Use fall protection on the job: it could be the difference between life and death.

If you would like more information, contact OSHA at www.osha.gov or 1-800-321-OSHA that's 1-800-321-6742.

More than 800 construction workers die every year while on the job. Falls are the number one cause of fatalities in construction. Falls cause one of every three construction worker deaths. These falls happen in a split second while workers are on roofs, scaffolds, ladders, bridges, and other work surfaces. But these deaths can be prevented.

The video you are about to see shows how quickly falls at construction sites can lead to workers'deaths. The video will also show what employers must do so that the work can be done more safely. Employers have a responsibility to provide a safe workplace and required protective equipment. You'll see that using the right type of fall protection saves lives.

Please be advised. The scenes you are about to see deal with deaths at construction sites and might be disturbing for some people. All scenes are based on true stories.

Four workers were insulating the roof and applying the top layer of sheet metal roof decking on a tall, pre-engineered building. The roof was fairly flat, there was no controlled decking zone, and the workers were not wearing any personal fall protection. The workers were using drills to screw the metal sheets into the purlins.

As one of the workers walked down the roof, he lost his footing. He fell through the space between the purlins, and landed on the floor below. He died the next day from his injuries.

Let's look at the events that led up to this tragic incident, and see how it could have been prevented. Originally, the workers had no fall protection, which OSHA requires the employer to provide when working at heights of 15 feet and above.

Let's look again at the workers installing the metal roofing sheets and see what happens when these workers use fall protection. They are now using a temporary horizontal lifeline. This involves a horizontal cable attached to two or more anchor points on the roof. In this system, the workers connect their harnesses to a horizontal lifeline that is secured to the roof structure instead of individual anchor points.

Again, as the worker loses his footing and falls between the purlins, his lifeline stops him from falling to the floor below. While he is hanging from his fall arrest system, a co-worker brings over a lift and rescues the worker.

This example shows the importance of employers following OSHA's fall protection standards to ensure that workers are provided with a safe workplace. These types of construction deaths are preventable. The fall protection measures shown here save workers' lives.

Use fall protection on the job: it could be the difference between life and death.

If you would like more information, contact OSHA at www.osha.gov or 1-800-321-OSHA that's 1-800-321-6742.

More than 800 construction workers die every year while on the job. Falls are the number one cause of fatalities in construction. Falls cause one of every three construction worker deaths. These falls happen in a split second while workers are on roofs, scaffolds, ladders, bridges, and other work surfaces. But these deaths can be prevented.

The video you are about to see shows how quickly falls at construction sites can lead to workers'deaths. The video will also show what employers must do so that the work can be done more safely. Employers have a responsibility to provide a safe workplace and required protective equipment. You'll see that using the right type of fall protection saves lives.

Please be advised. The scenes you are about to see deal with deaths at construction sites and might be disturbing for some people. All scenes are based on true stories.

Two workers were reroofing a two-story home with a pitched roof. They were not wearing any personal fall protection. The workers used nail guns to install shingles over an old layer of shingles.

One of the workers was close to the edge of the roof. As she reached to pick up another shingle, she lost her balance. She slipped off the edge of the roof. She fell more than 20 feet and landed on the driveway below. She died instantly from her injuries.

Let's look at the events leading up to this tragic incident, and see how it could have been prevented. Originally, the workers had no fall protection, which OSHA requires when working in residential construction at heights of 6 feet and above.

Let's look again at the workers installing shingles. Now, they are both wearing personal fall arrest systems. Each system has a full-body harness, a rope-grab lifeline, and connectors. Snaphooks connect each worker's rope-grab lifeline to secure roof anchors, which are located higher up on the roof. D-rings connect the workers' safety harnesses to their rope-grab lifelines.

As before, the worker reaches over to pick up a shingle, loses her balance, slips, and falls. But now, because she is wearing a fall arrest system, she only slips 2 feet and doesn't fall off the roof.

This example shows the importance of following OSHA's fall protection standards. These types of construction deaths are preventable. The fall protection measures shown here save workers' lives.

Use fall protection on the job: it could be the difference between life and death.

If you would like more information, contact OSHA at www.osha.gov or 1-800-321-OSHA that's 1-800-321-6742.

More than 800 construction workers die every year while on the job. Falls are the number one cause of fatalities in construction. Falls cause one of every three construction worker deaths. These falls happen in a split second while workers are on roofs, scaffolds, ladders, bridges, and other work surfaces. But these deaths can be prevented.

The video you are about to see shows how quickly falls at construction sites can lead to workers' deaths. The video will also show what employers must do so that the work can be done more safely. Employers have a responsibility to provide a safe workplace and required protective equipment. You'll see that using the right type of fall protection saves lives.

Please be advised. The scenes you are about to see deal with deaths at construction sites and might be disturbing for some people. All scenes are based on true stories.

Two workers were reroofing a two-story townhome. They were not wearing any personal fall protection, but guardrails were installed on the roof. The roof of the building was pitched and there was one skylight in the area that the workers were reroofing. One worker was using a nail gun to install new shingles over the single layer of old shingles. He was installing shingles in the center of the roof near an unguarded skylight. A co-worker was setting shingles.

As the worker nailed shingles near the unguarded skylight, he stepped backwards onto it. The skylight was not strong enough to hold his weight, and it broke. He fell through the skylight. He fell 15 feet, and landed on the floor below. He was badly injured and died two days later at the hospital.

Let's look at the events leading up to this tragic incident, and see how it could have been prevented. The roof already had guardrails, so the employer thought his workers were protected from fall hazards. But, he was wrong. Originally, when the worker was installing shingles near the skylight, the skylight was only covered by a translucent plastic dome. Now, the skylight is guarded by a cover that meets OSHA requirements. As before, the worker is nailing in shingles. Now, as he steps backwards, instead of stepping onto the skylight, he bumps into the cover, regains his footing, and continues installing shingles.

This example shows the importance of following OSHA's fall protection standards. These types of construction deaths are preventable. The fall protection measures shown here save workers' lives.

Use fall protection on the job: it could be the difference between life and death.

If you would like more information, contact OSHA at www.osha.gov or 1-800-321-OSHA that's 1-800-321-6742.