§          Written fall protection procedures are required whenever one or more Authorized Persons are routinely exposed to a fall hazard that is not otherwise protected by passive fall protection systems such as guard railing.

§          Written fall protection procedures shall:

o         Specify the fall protection equipment and systems used to protect Authorized Persons from each fall hazard, and

o         Document the proper way to operate the specified fall protection equipment and systems, including installation, inspection, use, and dismantling.

§          Prior to preparing fall protection procedures, a fall hazard survey shall be performed for every workplace activity where authorized persons are exposed to a fall hazard.

Procedures should be written based on a Job Safety Analysis.

Job Safety Analysis Template

§          A fall hazard survey report shall:

o         Be prepared for each fall hazard to which an Authorized Person may be exposed.

o         Identify all current and predictable workplace paths of Authorized Persons, all fall hazards along such paths, and the locations and distances to all obstructions in potential fall paths.

o         Identify one or more methods to eliminate or control each identified fall hazard.

o         Be conducted by a Competent Person or a Qualified Person who is familiar with, and has access to, information about local work processes, environment, policy and industry practices and who collects input from the actual work team familiar with workplace activities.

o         Identify circumstances and environmental factors that may affect the:

·          Installation,

·          Use,

·          Inspection, Maintenance, and

·          Dismantling of any fall protection system.

o         Identify, at a minimum, the presence of:

·          Hot objects, sparks, flames, and heat-producing operations;

·          Chemicals, hazardous to the authorized person or to the fall protection system;

·          Electrical hazards;

·          Environmental contaminants of any form;

·          Sharp objects and abrasive surfaces;

·          Moving equipment and materials;

·          Unstable, uneven and slippery walking/working surfaces;

·          Unguarded openings; Climatic and weather factors;

·          Other materials or circumstances which could adversely affect the fall protection systems; and

·          Foreseeable changes in any of these conditions taken individually or collectively.

o         Establish risk factors to assist in the ranking of fall hazards.

o         Be revised or re-written whenever there is a change to the task, process, structure, equipment, or legislation that would render past surveys obsolete.

o         Be written and made available to the Program Administrator.

Fall Hazard Survey Report Template

§          The Competent Person working with the Program Administrator and others as designated by the Program Administrator shall develop fall protection procedures and a timetable to implement them based upon the ranking of the surveyed fall hazards.

Minimum Requirements for Fall Protection Procedures

Interpreted Requirements

Templates, Examples

§          Fall protection procedures shall:

o         Be written, prepared, and modified by only a Qualified Person or a Competent Person.

o         Be prepared specifically for the workplace and task where they will be applied, except where the same procedure can be effectively applied to multiple workplaces.

o         Provide for 100% protection in the event of a fall.

o         Include training requirements and qualifications of personnel permitted to use the system.

o         Include a requirement that any accidents or near misses be investigated to determine how the procedure shall be improved.

Procedures should be written based on a Job Safety Analysis.

Job Safety Analysis Template

§          Written fall protection procedures for fall arrest systems shall include:

o         Identification of acceptable fall arrest anchorages,

o         Clearance requirements,

o         Complete setup procedure for access, use, and egress from the fall arrest systems, and

o         Limitations on use of the systems, including the maximum free fall, maximum arrest force, and the maximum number and permitted locations of authorized persons who may attach or use the system.

§          Written fall protection procedures for work positioning and travel restraint systems shall include:

o         Identification of acceptable anchorages,

o         Complete setup procedure for access, use and egress; and

o         Limitations on use of the system, including the maximum number and permitted locations of authorized persons who may attach to or use the system.

§          Fall protection procedures for installing and dismantling fall protection equipment shall include:

o         A description of all components used in the fall protection system, specifying the applicable manufacturers, standard, and/or drawing.

o         Specification of required anchorage strengths or other criteria for choosing acceptable anchorages.

o         Any limitations on where or how the system shall be installed.

o         Detailed instructions of how to assemble the components into the complete fall protection system.

o         If applicable, detailed instructions of how to safely disassemble the fall protection system.

§          Fall protection procedures for inspection shall include:

o         Required or recommended inspection intervals.

o         Detailed instructions of how to inspect each component of the system.

o         Description of acceptance and rejection criteria, including retirement criteria, of each component of the system.

All inspection procedures must be based on the equipment manufacturer's instructions for inspection.  These inspection instructions are usually included with the User's Manual.