Why Perform a Fall Hazard Analysis?

When addressing workplace fall hazards, it may be tempting to adopt a do-it-yourself approach. After all, who knows your facility better than you do? A guard rail here, a swing gate there, and the problem is solved, right? Unfortunately, most fall hazards are not so easily addressed. Some may not even be obvious. So how do you decide which hazards are top priority, and how do you choose the proper equipment to meet your needs and specifications?

A detailed fall hazard analysis can help. Experts in risk identification and assessment can provide you with the data needed to make informed decisions about fall protection that can both reduce risk and cut costs. Here we’ll review a few clear benefits to a detailed fall hazard analysis.

Regulatory Compliance
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and independent agencies such as the American National Standards Institute (see ANSI Z359.2) have created specific standards for workplace fall prevention. A fall hazard analysis can help you identify key areas where modifications are needed to make your facility compliant, before an accident results in a worker injury or an OSHA fine.

Purchasing Choices and Cost Savings
Doubling your budget for fall protection equipment won’t do much good if the equipment you purchase is inappropriate to the risks present at your facility. A detailed hazard analysis, including a wall-to-wall facility walk-through inspection, can tell you the type and extent of fall protection equipment you’ll need. This is a great way to limit costs and promote effective purchasing decisions. Best of all, a hazard analysis provides you with a validated budget, as well as a clear cost-benefit matrix.

Setting Priorities
Where are your greatest risks? Knowing the answer to this question can help you triage the hazards in your facility and to address the most severe first. Roofs, ladders, tanks, holes, hoist areas, pits, walkways, moving platforms, and work atop vehicles can all be sites for a potential fall hazard. Knowing the probability that a fall will occur at each identified hazard point can help you prioritize risk and choose the most appropriate, cost-effective solution.

Customized Design, Training, and Procedures
In most facilities a “cookie-cutter” approach to fall protection will be insufficient. Each facility has its own particular hazards and specifications. Some may be addressed using standard pre-fabricated components, while others may require customized design. A detailed fall hazard analysis can provide you with a starting point for problem-solving. By working with a manufacturer that provides custom design solutions, you can customize fall protection systems to meet your specific needs. Also, you can then develop workplace training programs and rescue procedures based on the fall protection equipment you choose. Because a comprehensive fall protection system is more than an anchor, harness, and lanyard, a fall hazard analysis can ensure that your workers are trained in the equipment and procedures most ideally suited to your facility.

Thanks for reading!

Michael Evanko
Marketing Manager

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May 17, 2012
07:09 AM

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