Lecture # 6 Fall Protection (cont.

) 24102019
۞Falls are the leading cause of the fatalities (or
deaths relating to injuries) in the construction industry.

Unprotected sides and edges: Any open-sided floors

or platforms ≥ 6 feet above the adjacent floor level
with no wall or guardrail system of ≤ 39 inch high.
۞All open-sided floors must be protected from
falling by using at least one of the following:
Guardrail Systems, Safety Net Systems, or Personal
Fall Arrest Systems (PFAS) .
Specifications of Guardrail Systems:
۞All guardrail systems must be constructed with
Top Rail, Mid Rail, and Toe Board.
1.Top Rail must support 200 lbs. of force downward
and outward and Mid Rail must support 150 lbs.
2. Top Rail must be 39”- 45” in height (at least 42”
from working surface) and the Mid Rail at Halfway (at
least 21”).
3. Toe Board must be at least 3.5” in height.
 This guardrail is
properly constructed
except it is missing the
toe - board which, is
required to prevent
objects from falling to
lower floor
Safety Net Systems: Are to be installed as close
as practicable under the working surface, but not
more than 30 feet (in all cases).
Personal Fall Arrest Systems (PFAS):
1. Are to be used on construction sites whenever
workers are exposed to vertical drops of ≥ 6 feet .
2. Before using, the body harness must be inspected to
be free from any visible damage and must be
adjustable in order to fit the worker’s body.
 IMPORTANT NOTICES
1. All existing structures must to be surveyed and
audited before starting the next day work.
2. All Floor Holes must be covered (guarded) ALWAYS.
3. All floor hole covers must support TWO TIMES the
total eight of (employees + equipment + materials).
 Methods of falling protection
 All Open-sided floors or platforms must be
protected from falling using one of the following:
1. Motion stopping safety device.
2. Warning Line System: Which consists of a rope, wire
or chain supported 34”- 39” above the roof , flagged at
least every 6 feet.
3. Safety Monitoring System: Warning line system is
NOT REQUIRED on roofs of less than 50 feet width
in order to avoid congestion.
 Duties of Falling Safety Monitor
For a safety monitoring system, the monitor must:
1. Be a competent person.
2. Wear a safety vest of orange or
yellow color to be identified
on the roofs easily.
3. Be able to warn workers of fall hazards.
4. Be on same working level and within visual sighting.
5. Be close enough to orally communicate with workers.
6. Have no responsibilities that may take his/her
attention away from monitoring.
Watching related videos (1-6)