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Tag Archives: Fall Protection

Winter Weather Safety

When winter weather strikes, it can damage your equipment and cause harm to your employees. Keep your employees safe in winter weather with these tips. 

Want more information? Download our complete guide to winter construction site prep!

Personal Safety in Winter Conditions

Prevent slips, trips, and falls.

A boom lift with Hugg & Hall stickers in winter weather. The tires and top of the machinery are dusted with snow.

As temperatures approach the freezing point, it’s necessary for your company to help prevent slips, trips & falls. Thin patches of ice begin to occur when air temperatures reach the 30s and become dangerous quickly.

Proper PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) plays a significant role in keeping employees safe. Winter PPE includes non-slip footwear, gloves, jackets/coats, and hard-hat liners. This article from Construct Connect has additional information about winter PPE. 

Even when your team has the appropriate PPE, equipment and ladders create additional jobsite hazards in winter. Conduct routine inspections for surface ice on your equipment. If you detect any snow or ice, clear the surface immediately and make sure your team’s footwear is free of snow and ice. As always, make sure your team is in their fall-protection gear for additional safety. 

 

Recognize cold-related illness and act quickly.

Know the signs of hypothermia, frostbite, and trench foot and be prepared to administer first aid while you wait for emergency services. Your quick action can save a life.

Hypothermia

Early signs of hypothermia include shivering, loss of coordination, confusion, and fatigue. Prolonged hypothermia leads to blue skin, dilation of the pupils, lowered pulse rate, and a possible loss of consciousness.

If an individual on your team is experiencing the symptoms of hypothermia, alert the job supervisor and request medical assistance. Move the victim into a warm area. Remove any wet clothing and cover the victim with additional clothing or blankets. Warm beverages may help increase their body temperature. Once their body temperature has increased, keep them warm and dry.

Frostbite

Frostbite begins with a loss of feeling and color in affected areas, and can cause permanent damage to body tissue. It can even lead to limb amputation. Frostbite symptoms include reduced blood flow, numbness, tingling, stinging, and pale, waxy skin. The nose, ears, cheeks, chin, fingers, and toes are most commonly affected by frostbite. 

If an employee is suffering from frostbite, take them to a warm area. The victim should avoid using the affected appendage and immerse it in warm—never hot—water. If no warm water is available, keep the affected area warm with body heat. Never rub the frostbitten area and do not expose it to direct heat. 

Trench Foot

Trench foot is an injury caused by exposure to wet and cold conditions over a prolonged time. If the temperature is below 60°F and the worker’s feet are constantly wet, trench foot is a legitimate concern. Symptoms include discoloration, numbness, lower-body cramps, swelling, blisters, and subdermal bleeding. 

To care for trench foot, remove the victim’s shoes and socks and dry their feet. Request medical attention. The victim should not try to walk, because walking can cause additional damage.

 

Provide heated break-spaces.

Taking breaks in heated areas and breaks for proper hydration are essential to winter safety. Encourage your employees to take time away from the elements. Breaks are also a convenient time to check for signs of cold-related illness.

To provide Your employees with a heated break area, check out these heaters. Make sure to properly vent the area and monitor for carbon monoxide exposure. Read our blog for more information on using heaters safely. 

 

Put emergency kits in work vehicles.

Make sure each of your work trucks and vehicles have winter weather kits. Kits should include water, nutritious snacks, blankets, a flashlight, an ice scraper/snow brush, and more. 

Now that you know the dangers of winter conditions & how to prepare for them, you will be better able to stay active and productive while keeping your employees safe in winter weather. For further preparation we recommend keeping an updated calendar and having a set breaking system to keep your employees safe.

Interested in learning more about keeping your team safe and your equipment in tip-top shape? Download our complete Winter Prep Guide! 

Want more winter weather tips and tricks? Check out our resources section! 

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in February 2021. We updated it for freshness, accuracy, and comprehensiveness in January 2023. 

Is A Harness Required?

When are you required to use a harness? The short answer to this question is: it’s complicated. There are many variables that contribute to when a worker is required to wear a harness such as working heights, the type of equipment, job site conditions and company policies. However, a good starting point is to refer to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s requirements that state: 

General Industry requires fall protection for any worker over 4’. 1910.28(b)(1)(i)

Construction requires fall protection for any worker over 6’. 1926.501(b)(1)

Instances where the general height rules do not apply include when job sites are in/around certain safety hazards like dangerous equipment, machinery or hazardous materials into which workers could fall. In these situations, fall protection or authorized guarding is required regardless of the working height. 

James Lennartz, Training Manager at Hugg & Hall, recently spoke on the many considerations related to fall protection and when harnesses are and aren’t necessary. 

“When it comes to the requirements of wearing fall protection it depends on both the equipment and/or the local/state/employer requirements,” said Lennartz. “According to the ANSI Standard (ANSI/SAIA A92.22); the guardrail system of the Mobile Elevated Work Platform (MEWP) is the primary fall protection for occupants.”

“When required to use personal fall protection, either fall restraint or fall arrest, operators and occupants shall comply with the instructions provided by the manufacture regarding anchorage(s),” said Lennartz. “Basically, if the person is using a scissor lift (Group A) they are not required to wear a safety harness as the guardrail system is adequate enough to provide fall protection. Now, local/state or employer can require an operator to wear a safety harness. If the MEWP is a boom lift (Group B), then here it is. All group B MEWP operators and occupants shall use personal fall arrest or fall restraint systems at all times.” 

Specific rules may vary based on the companies and organizations involved as well as federal/state/local laws. Lennartz spoke on Hugg & Hall’s own policy regarding fall protection. 

“Our drivers are required to wear a harness when loading and unloading booms only. We also require the same of customers and other drivers when on our yards,” said Lennartz.

Exceptions

There are a few exceptions to the basic rules and workers/managers always need to be trained on and understand the organizational rules and federal/state/local laws governing their job site. Safety should always be the first priority and fall protection is an important and essential part of work site safety. 

Fall Protection: What You Need to Know

Fall Protection: What You Need to Know

It’s important to understand the rules to ensure your following them, so we’ve put together a quick guide on the basics of fall protection requirements for mobile elevating work platforms (MEWPs). Under the OSHA Aerial Lift Regulation, the employer, user and operator of a lift are all responsible for providing approved fall protection to employees/users. For boom-type lifts, personal fall arrest systems have specific requirements which must be met to remain within compliance. These requirements involve calculating fall distance and potential arresting force.

There are a couple of options for personal fall protection equipment for boom-type MEWPs. One is a full body harness with fall restraint system and the other is a full body harness with a self-retracting life/lanyard system. These systems are specifically required to not allow for the operator to fall more than 6 feet or to exceed 1,800 pounds in arresting force. Operators cannot come into contact with any lower surface.

Fall restraint and fall arrest are two categories of fall protection, according to an article published by Grainger.  A fall restraint system can be used to help prevent the worker from falling or being thrown from the platform and include: a short or adjustable restraint lanyard and a body belt or a full-body harness. A fall arrest system is used to minimize the distances and consequences of a fall should one occur. They are designed to provide freedom of movement for the worker and include: a self-retracting lifeline and a full body harness.

Some factors must be taken into consideration before the self-retracting/lanyard system can be used. First, the fall restraint lanyard must be used during travel and when platform height is below the calculated total fall distance. The fall arrest lanyard can be used when the platform height is above the calculated total fall distance and, secondly, when the body belt with fall restraint is arranged so that the employee is not exposed to falling any distance outside the platform.

When calculating the total fall distance, it’s important to take into consideration the following (according to an article published by Aerial Pros):

  • Lanyard free fall distance (a)
  • Maximum allowable deceleration distance (b)
  • Maximum lock‐up length (for the self‐retracting lifeline/lanyard only) (a+b)
  • The height of the operator (c)
  • Safety factor (a suitable amount to ensure that the required clearance between the operator and the lower surface is met) (d)
    • Any stretch in the lifeline or lanyard outside of the deceleration distance.
    • Any harness effects
    • Any movement of the platform due to dynamic loading
    • Any obstructions under the platform

Other fall protection requirements which OSHA enforces, include:

  • Ensure that access gates or openings are closed.
  • Stand firmly on the floor of the bucket or lift platform.
  • Do not climb on or lean over guardrails or handrails.
  • Do not use planks, ladders, or other devices as a working position.
  • Use a body harness or a restraining belt with a lanyard attached to the boom or bucket.
  • Do not belt-off to adjacent structures or poles while in the bucket.

For more detailed information on the rules and standards which regular fall arrest systems read the following OSHA and ANSI documents, according to the International Powered Access Federation (IPAF), a not-for-profit organization owned by its members, which include manufacturers, rental companies, distributors, contractors and users.

For more information, please contact your local OSHA agency, your local fall protection supplier or visit: https://www.osha.gov/Publications/aerial-lifts-factsheet.html