Fall Protection Is More Than Equipment, It’s a Culture

Back in 1891, Thomas Lynch is said to have coined the phrase “Safety First” in an attempt to increase awareness of workplace hazards and to reduce the number deaths and injuries in Pennsylvania’s thriving coal mining industry. Since then, the phrase has become standard in a wide range of industrial settings, including manufacturing, construction, utility work, railroading, and trucking.

As many industry experts will tell you, a successful program aimed at reducing workplace fatalities and injuries goes beyond the selection, purchasing, and installation of the proper equipment to address each hazard. It requires a culture of safety among workers and management alike. This is especially true in the area of fall protection and prevention.

Here, we will review several simple ways to create a culture of safety in the workplace, aimed at increasing awareness of fall hazards, promoting safe practices, improving training and equipment inspection, and reducing risk.

MAKE SAFETY PRIORITY NUMBER ONE

OSHA regulations and industry standards are in place for a reason, but compliance with the rules is only part of the picture. The rationale behind the rules—reducing risk and preventing injury—must remain priority number one. The establishment of such priorities starts with upper management. The less concerned a CEO is with risk reduction and fall prevention, the more difficult it becomes to encourage safe practices among the workforce. The message from management should be clear: “We care about your safety and well-being, so should you.”

TRAINING

A clear, thorough, hands-on training program is a great way to familiarize workers with proper use of fall-protection equipment, cautions, equipment inspections, and fall rescue procedures in the event of an accident. It is also important to address the differing daily concerns of workers performing various tasks that may entail a fall hazard. Listening to the concerns of experienced workers can help sharpen the focus of your company’s fall prevention and protection training programs.

COMMUNICATION

It is important to emphasize what each worker risks by failure to comply with OSHA and company safety standards: death, injury, disability, and lost wages. These are all potential outcomes that cannot only affect the worker him/herself, but also families, coworkers, and the company as a whole. It is also important that workers communicate with each other effectively—both during daily procedures that entail a potential fall hazard, and in the creation of a fall rescue plan. When everyone knows their role and responsibilities, a culture of safety is reinforced.

EQUIPMENT

One key to promoting a culture of safety is choosing the proper equipment. Not only should that equipment appropriately address each fall hazard, but it should be easy to use, comfortable to wear, and easy to inspect. Many manufacturers are happy to work with you to select the most appropriate and comfortable fall protection gear for your facility.

THE DOWN SIDE: NONCOMPLIANCE

Noncompliance with fall protection rules and guidelines is a serious concern. Whatever disciplinary measures are in place (fines, time off without pay, etc.), they should be enforced firmly and consistently to re-emphasize that workplace safety and fall protection are not simply a collection of rules—they are company-wide priorities.

Thank you for reading,

Michael Evanko
Marketing Manager

Add a Comment
Share

Comments

May 17, 2012
06:47 AM

No Comments Yet.