OSHA Fall-Prevention Rule Advances

OSHA's long-awaited draft final rule revising protections for general industry workers from falls, slips and trips is undergoing review at the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA).

An OIRA review, which isn't supposed to take more than 90 days, with one 30-day extension permitted, is typically among the last steps for a draft rule, before it is published.

OSHA submitted the draft final rule, formally known as the Walking Working Surfaces and Personal Fall Protection Systems (Slips, Trips, and Fall Prevention), to OIRA on July 2. The agency first proposed making revisions to the general industry requirements in 1990.

As is common practice, OSHA hasn't publicly released the draft final rule presented to OIRA.

In 2013, falls, slips and trips claimed the lives of about 360 general industry workers and resulted in about 207,200 workers missing at least one day on the job, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

The agency's most recent detailed explanation of possible changes was in May 2010 when OSHA issued a 293-page notice of proposed rulemaking and held public hearings in January 2011.

In the May 2010 notice, OSHA said the proposed rule would revise portions of the general industry standard Walking-Working Surfaces and Subpart I Personal Protective Equipment. The construction and maritime industries are covered by different standards.

At the time, OSHA said its goal was to increase consistency among the general industry, construction and maritime standards and eliminate duplication. The agency estimated implementing the changes would save employers annually $173.3 million.

“The existing OSHA general industry standards recognize the use of guardrails and physical barriers as the primary methods for employee protection against falls,” the 2010 notice said. “However, those standards do not directly recognize that personal fall protection systems can also provide effective means for employee protection.”

"OSHA believes that the proposed rules will give employers the necessary flexibility to decide which fall protection method or system works best for the work operation being performed, while ensuring that employees receive a level of protection that is effective and necessary,” the notice continued.

In the notice, OSHA highlighted four issues addressed by the proposed rule:

• Fall protection for workers on commercial trucks, locomotives and railcars;
• Permission for some employers, such as billboard companies, not to use fall prevention equipment if a “qualified climber” performs the task;
• Fall protection for workers standing on stacked materials, such as steel beams and precast concrete products and
• Anchorages on buildings for rope and cable-descent systems.

In addition, the 2010 proposed rule sought to make numerous changes to existing requirements for fixed and portable ladders, stairways and general requirements for fall prevention.

For example, the proposed rule added a new requirement that a ladder couldn't be moved while an employee was on the ladder and explained when fall-prevention systems other than guardrails are acceptable.

“OSHA believes that this approach will bring consistency to its fall-protection standards and make it easier for employers to comply, especially employers who perform work covered by both the construction and general industry standards,” the 2010 notice said. Click here to learn more.