FALL PROTECTION FOR TRANSPORTATION INDUSTRY

The transportation industry often requires workers to climb atop tanker trucks, flatbeds, and even open or closed trailers on a regular basis. It’s sometimes unknown that a lot of people die falling from 20 feet or from higher heights. Therefore fall arresters are important for them.

Fall Arrester

There are many other risks to transportation professionals, but the daily tasks of servicing large vehicles and loading and unloading trucks can present serious and life-threatening fall hazards. The transportation industry is often overlooked in regard to fall protection, and yet many workers suffer severe injuries and even death each year falling from tanker and flatbed trucks, among other types of transportation systems.

Even so, there are only some Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations that apply to fall protection for drivers and other workers climbing atop trucks and trailers to strap and secure loads. For years, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration didn't implement clear regulations in respect to the transportation trade.

Fall arresters are implemented for employees many times. In 2004, several regulations were implemented to protect workers, however, one specific regulation was too broad, as it encompassed a wide range of applications. This particular regulation applied to unprotected sides and edges (in general) and falls under OSHA 1926.501(b)(1).

It states: Each worker on a horizontal or vertical working surface with a non-protected side or corners which is 6 feet (1.8 m) or more above a lower level shall be protected from falling by the use of guardrail or safety systems, or personal fall arrest systems.

This regulation was written and intended to encompass ANY working or walking surface that workers might be exposed to while conducting their job. It was most definitely intended to include flatbed trucks and trailers, particularly because workers must use these surfaces to conduct their daily tasks. But, it’s caused some confusion in the transportation industry in regard to fall protection

Fall Protection Devices

Fall Protection Devices

A harness will have connection points based on how a company intends to use them.  The most common functions of full-body harness attachment points are fall arrest, work positioning, travel restraint, descent, evacuation, and ladder climbing.

Depending upon the type of work that needs to be performed at height, it is possible that a full-body harness could perform all of those functions or only one or two of them. The important thing is to know what kind of harness attachment is needed in order to accomplish those different functions.

Harnesses that can be used with a ladder-climbing safety system will have either a single D-ring or a pair of D-Rings at chest level. These harnesses are designed to connect to a ladder fall protection system so that a worker can have a fall arrest while working on a ladder. This particular harness attachment is designed to keep a worker relatively close to the ladder to improve the success of the ladder fall arrest device.

Generally speaking, the work environment for which the full-body harness is needed will dictate the number and location of the harness attachment points. Different harness attachment points will help you identify the ways in which the harness can be used. If you need a harness that can perform in a certain way or assist with a certain function, it’s important to find a harness that has the appropriate connection points for what you are trying to accomplish.

The fall protection device is an important part of rope access equipment. It is mainly designed for the safety purpose of the employees who are work at heights. It consists of different products which are used for indoor and outdoor activities.

In all construction sites, they will give importance to safety. We can see the allowed PPE system in front of it. It is placed for notifying the workers as well as the strangers who are entering into the site. similarly, for the workers to perform activities that require high security, they need to wear a full-body harness and all other fall protection devices.