OSHA changes rules for protection from falls

Falls in construction remain the No. 1 cause of worker fatalities. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, an average of 40 construction workers are killed each year as a result of falls from residential roofs.

On Dec. 22, OSHA announced a significant departure from the way it deals with fall protection issues for residential construction. Since 1995, under OSHA directive STD 03-00-001, STD3-0.1A, there were four "groups" or scenarios in residential construction, where it was assumed that conventional fall protection as required by the OSHA standards was infeasible and where employers did not have to have a specific, written alternative fall protection program as long as they followed the guidelines listed in the directive.

This was a significant benefit to residential contractors, because the 1999 directive gave them very specific guidelines they could feel comfortable following to know that they were in compliance with the construction fall protection requirements to protect their employees. That all changed with the recent announcement. In the Dec. 22 news release, OSHA stated: "The directive being replaced, issued in 1995, initially was intended as a temporary policy and was the result of concerns about the feasibility of fall protection in residential building construction. However, there continues to be a high number of fall-related deaths in construction, and industry experts now feel that feasibility is no longer an issue or concern."

As a result of the new ruling, the prior alternative fall protection rules have been suspended and employers engaged in residential construction who have roof work to perform must now comply with 29 CFR 1926.501(b)13, the standard OSHA residential construction fall protection rules. That provision still allows for certain alternative fall-protection procedures once a determination is made that conventional fall protection is infeasible, but any alternative fall protection plan and determination of infeasibility will once again have to be written and be site-specific.

The regulation at 1926.501(b)13 contains a note that says: "There is a presumption that it is feasible and will not create a greater hazard to implement at least one of the above-listed fall protection systems. Accordingly, the employer has the burden of establishing that it is appropriate to implement a fall protection plan which complies with 1926.502(k) for a particular workplace situation, in lieu of implementing any of those systems." Section 502(k) requires that plan to be site-specific and in writing.

What the 1999 directive did was provide four alternate "groups" of residential construction tasks, for which not only were the fall protection rules of 501(b)13 not required, but neither were the written alternate fall protection plans under 502(k) as long as the guidelines in the directive were followed. This covered many common residential tasks including roofing, truss setting, roof sheeting, setting floor joists, exterior wall construction and certain work when performed in attics. All of those activities will now require traditional fall protection or alternative, written, site-specific fall protection plans.

The other notable change is OSHA's definition of what constitutes "residential construction." Under the 1999 directive, residential construction was any construction "where the working environment, materials, methods and procedures [we]re essentially the same as those used in building a typical single-family home or townhouse." OSHA explained that for purposes of the prior directive, "residential construction was characterized by wood framing and wooden floor joists and floor structures and involved traditional wood frame construction techniques."

The new ruling adopts an earlier 1994 definition of residential construction which combines two elements, both of which must be satisfied for a project to fall under that definition: "(1) the end-use of the structure being built must be as a home, i.e., a dwelling; and (2) the structure being built must be constructed using traditional wood frame construction materials and methods (although the limited use of structural steel in a predominantly wood-framed home, such as a steel I-beam to help support wood framing, does not disqualify a structure from being considered residential construction)."

The rule is significant for contractors involved in residential construction, because under the new citation policy if an employer engaged in residential construction does not provide traditional guardrail systems, safety net systems or personal fall arrest systems then they must provide an alternative, written fall protection or a citation for violating 1926.501(b)(13) will be issued. Further, the written fall protection plan option is only available if the employer has demonstrated the infeasibility of the traditional protective measures or the existence of a greater hazard and the OSHA inspector determines the fall protection plan is site specific, in writing and in compliance with 502(k).

All Nevada contractors have recently had to obtain either the OSHA 10-hour or OSHA 30-hour safety training under the new Nevada state law. In many cases, that instruction dealt with how to comply with residential fall protection requirements based on the 1999 OSHA directive. The rescinding of that directive now means that those contractors must re-think how they deal with residential fall protection issues in order to remain in compliance. OSHA has given contractors six months to comply with the new directive.

John Skowronek is a human resource specialist and OSHA trainer providing staffing and training services to Nevada businesses. His Reno-based staffing company is Square One Solutions. Contact him at 825-9675.