• 15
  • July
    2010

Falls and trip hazards are the cause of a significant number of workplace and construction accidents every year, including a major cause of fatal accidents. According to the Bureau of Labor statistics, there were 680 fatal workplace falls in 2008. OSHA lists inadequate fall protection second on its list of top ten safety violations. It issued 6,771 citations for lack of fall protection that year.

In order to reduce the number of injuries and fatalities due to workplace and construction accidents, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has developed a new code for the prevention of trips, slips and falls at work.

ANSI's new code, known as the ANSI Z359 Fall Protection Code, is a voluntary national consensus standard intended to serve as an authoritative document that both those who work at heights and their employers can use to prevent workplace slip, trip and fall accidents.

Free Webinar on New Fall Protection Code to Be Held August 11

OH&S (Occupational Health & Safety) magazine is offering a webinar to explain the new fall safety code, its evolution, highlights and significance.  Those interested will have to sign up with OH&S's website, but signing up is free. After doing so, you can log in and register for the webinar.

The webinar's presenter will be Randall Wingfield, owner and founder of a fall protection and engineering firm called Gravitec Systems, Inc., where he provides safety tips and training as well as expert witness testimony. Wingfield was instrumental in the development of the new ANSI Z359 fall protection code and has worked on fall protection standards nationwide and internationally. He is president of the International Society for Fall Protection, a nonprofit focused on reducing workplace and construction falls through the promotion of research and the facilitation of strong communication among those in affected industries.

The talk will discuss the highlights of the existing standards and ten draft standards for fall prevention. He will explain how the new code will impact those who work at heights, fall protection program administrators, equipment manufacturers and other industry professionals, and engineers who design fall protection systems.

The webinar is scheduled for one hour on August 11, 2010 at 2:00 p.m. EST. For more information or to register for the event, refer to "The Evolution of the ANSI ASSE Z359 Fall Protection Code and What You Need to Know" OH&S's website.

Related Resource:

"The Evolution of the ANSI ASSE Z359 Fall Protection Code and What You Need to Know" (OH&S magazine)