Employers need to be aware of the risk posed by falls. Workers can suffer severe injuries, and falls often have fatal consequences.
To help mitigate these risks in situations where there is no choice but for employees to work at heights, different types of fall prevention strategies need to be used. There are three general categories that both employers and employees should be aware of.
1. Preventing the fall from taking place
First and foremost, fall prevention is sometimes possible. If there is a single exposed edge where a worker could fall, erecting a temporary or permanent guardrail may be a solution. This makes it impossible for the worker to reach that exposed edge and keeps them out of danger.
2. Restricting the worker’s range of motion
In other situations, it may not be practical to physically prevent a worker from going over the edge. Say that a worker has to climb on a flat roof, which has four exposed edges. It is not realistic to put guardrails on all of them, but a travel restraint system can be used. The worker is tethered to the roof in a way that makes it impossible for them to reach those edges, but they can still do their job.
3. Arresting the fall as it occurs
Finally, there are certain jobs where falls are just a possibility. There is no way to fully prevent them. In these cases, a fall arrest system may be used. An example could be giving the worker a harness that they can wear, and they can then be clipped into a dynamic rope that will catch them if they fall, reducing the chances of serious injury.
These types of fall protection can be useful, but there are always risks on the job. Injured workers need to know how to seek appropriate workers’ comp benefits.