Are you working in an industry where you are required to be more than four feet above the air and you fear that your employer may not help with covering costs of hospital bills if you fall on the job? There are several things you will want to know about how the fall protection system works for you and how it can help you with receiving the most from any settlement involving an accident related to work.
Surviving the Incident Makes You Lucky
Surviving an incident while you are working at such great heights is a miracle within itself. In order to reduce a number of accidents that occur on the job, most jobs are now requiring that you take fall protection courses to help with understanding how OSHA fall protection works.
Most people don’t know what is involved with the rules and feel that, as long as they work at heights over 4 feet, they will always be protected. But you may be wrong about this. Let’s look at some examples as to how this is true.
Why You Could Possibly Lose Your Fall Protection System Benefits
If you are looking to ensure that if anything happens while you’re working at such great heights, you need to be careful of whether or not you are in compliance with certain regulations. It’s also important to note what is and is not covered under the program by taking an OSHA fall protection training course. This is a course that will empower you and help with understanding exactly how your niche-specific field works within the OSHA fall protection spectrum. Here are some basics that apply for most people though.
Ladders May Not be the Best Option to Use Unless You Have Insurance
You aren’t covered under the fall protection plan on ladders. There are no specific requirements needed to help ensure that you are meeting the standards here. Don’t allow yourself to be tied to a ladder, ever. This is not advised and can prevent further injury to yourself in the future.
Fix ladders are, however, covered under fall protection, so keep that in mind when you’re working with ladders. If you feel you aren’t covered under any regulations, then make sure you have insurance through your employer to ensure that you’re going to get protected with insurance.
Housekeeping Also Involves a Role
If you are a housekeeper that is required to above four feet in height — and yes it happens — then you are also required to follow certain rules under the fall protection system. You need to ensure that you are constantly keeping up with your tidying efforts. Put everything back after you use it because you could be held at fault for your accident if you don’t. Most people will see that as reckless behavior and not becoming of a professional. So to avoid blame as a housekeeper, keep up with your tidiness.
Guardrails and Handrails Should Be Protected
The next thing to look are your guardrails and handrails in place at your place of business. If you’re working as a scaffolder, imagine if you were at heights up 10 feet without a guardrail to prevent you from falling? This might be terrifying to think — but there are jobs out there that think it’s okay not to provide these rails. This goes in every field.
If your employer fails to have these in place, be sure to speak out. You don’t want to put yourself in jeopardy because of your employers’ inability to setup the right precautions for your place of business. Never let yourself be unprotected by ensuring your job meets inspection for fall protection equipment.
Take Advantage of These Tips to Ensure You Are Following the OSHA Rules
OSHA fall protection is an extremely sensitive system that relies on people using the right precautions to ensure their safety. No matter if you’re the employer or employee, you need to make sure you are doing your own part in ensuring your safety and those around you. Clean up after yourself keep up with everything going on around you. When you are paying attention to what’s going on around you, the more confidence you can have that you’re following each fall protection system put into place.