If your employees are being exposed to a height that equals this or is something beyond it, it's your responsibility to have an adequate protection in place in case of accidental falls happen. Read more.

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Fall Protection - The Basics
When working at heights, the main concern for both employees and their retaining organization is of
course fall protection. There is no simple answer for optimal protection requirements. Single height
limitations across all industries and tasks would have been easier to implement but alas, it is not going
to happen. OSHA has varying requirements of height under its different guidelines and being the law it is
important to enforce them at work scenarios. The default height requirements for various industry
situations are as follows:
 4 feet for general industry
 6 feet for construction industry
 4 feet-5 feet marine terminal or shipyard
If your employees are being exposed to a height that equals this or is something beyond it, it's your
responsibility to have an adequate protection in place in case of accidental falls happen. It can be a
railing, arrest system, or something else in keeping with the laws.
Where is the zero minimum height guideline applicable? This is for conditions where employees are
dealing with dangerous machinery, equipment, or are facing hazards where chances of fall are quite
high. While you are at it, it is also important to know certain exceptions to these rules and the cases
where it applies. Construction is a dynamic business so permanent installation of railing system through
identification of hazards is not possible as one can consider in a manufacturing unit. So, you will come
across various exceptions in the form of:
A. Scaffolding: when working upon scaffolding your employees do not require protections even if
fall protection training is a must whenever one is working at heights. Protection is only a
necessity when you are working at 10 feet above from the ground. Boom lifts do require tying
off with restraining travel lanyard.
B. Ladders/stairs: any stairway that has 4 to 4+ risers for with height of 30”+ need to have stair
rails towards unprotected edges or sides. Many times, the need arises of building temporary
stairs that require optimal protection for the workers against fall situations. Protection in case of
ladders is related mostly to the fixed varieties. Here 24 feet is the key and in situations where
the height goes beyond protection in the form of well, cage, self-retracting lifeline or safety
device is the requirement.
C. Steel erection: this is one of the most complex and difficult to understand parts when it comes
to installation of protection features as per OSHA. Here the protection is required at 15 feet and
not below that. For better understanding is important to go through the associated rules and
regulations thoroughly and be clear about what is required when using the steel erection at
construction sites.
D. Rebar assemblies: there has been some debates regarding the need for protection associated
with workers who climb rebar vertical assembly as needed during wall constructions. Since it

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contains multiple footholds and handholds, nothing much is required up to 24 feet but there has
to be some protection beyond this height.
For all kinds of fall protection products and safety training do not forget to visit the website
Caisafety.com
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Brent Owens is a safety expert who works hand in hand with many construction companies across the
country to ensure that employees are always protected while at work. He recommends CAISafety.com
as the best name to trust for high quality fall protection systems.