OSHA Releases 7 Videos To Help Prevent Falls in Construction

via OSHA, through YouTube

via OSHA, through YouTube

Falls have long been the leading cause of fatalities in the construction industry, accounting for nearly 40% on an annual basis. Unsurprisingly, OSHA also issues the most citations for falls, and 2 different fall protection standards were on their top 10 most frequently cited violations list of 2018. To help build awareness and in an effort to reduce the number of deaths caused by falls, OSHA has released 6 videos and several other resources for employers.

In addition to the videos, posted below, OSHA has also announced that the 6th annual National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction will be held from May 6 to May 10th in 2019.  That event encourages employers across the country to take some time out of their days to discuss the seriousness of fall protection.

A 24-page Fall Prevention Training Guide has also been released as part of their outreach program. It contains a roadmap for how and when to use fall prevention toolbox talks, as well as a variety of other useful information for training your employees.

Fact sheets for both ladders and scaffolding are available, as well.  In the ladders category, extension ladders, job-made wooden ladders, and stepladders all have their own individual fact sheets. In the scaffolding category, narrow frame scaffolds, ladder jack scaffolds, and tube and coupler scaffolds all have their own individual fact sheets.

Now on to the videos.  I’m a huge fan of videos, because I think providing visuals is hugely important for knowledge retention and many of us in the construction industry are visual learners.

Floor Openings

Skylights

Fixed Scaffolds

Bridge Decking

Reroofing

Leading Edge Work

5 Ways to Prevent Workplace Falls

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OSHA Releases 7 Videos To Help Prevent Falls in Construction
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According to YouTube user Brett Albrecht, the collapse happened in Napa Valley, California, while a crane was lifting 50 ton concrete wall panels.  I was first made aware of the video through the Instagram page @osha_is_this_ok, which is a good follow if you aren’t already. One of their other followers claimed secondhand knowledge of the incident and said that no one was killed in the terrifying accident.

The fact that there have not been any news stories written about it is definitely a good sign that no one was seriously hurt by the incident.  There look to be about 10 or 11 workers standing near both panels that eventually collapsed, so there was potential for catastrophic loss. BRAGG is visible on the side of the crane at the 19 second mark, but that’s all we know.

This incident is extremely similar to another crane collapse that happened in Austin, Texas in January of 2018.  In that video, a crane lifting a similarly sized concrete wall panel collapsed, forcing several workers to run away in a panic. In that accident, 1 worker was transported to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

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