Protection Essentials for Hot Weather Jobs

Summertime brings warmer weather and longer daylight hours to stay productive on the jobsite. Unfortunately, the opportunity for increased productivity also provides more opportunities for workplace injuries to occur. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), most occupational injuries occur during June, July and August.

Warmer weather months might statistically bring about more falls and other workplace injuries, but it is imperative that employers always keep worker safety a top priority.

Let’s discuss basic fall protection requirements that are relevant all year long and will help ensure your workers at height are as safe as possible.

Fall Protection Equipment Inspections

There are two types of equipment inspections required by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regarding an organization’s fall protection equipment.

First, is the pre-use inspection. While somewhat self-explanatory, this inspection is required every time a worker is going to use their personal fall protection equipment.

They must inspect their anchorage, body harness and connection device for original manufacturer tags, signs of deployment (meaning the equipment has arrested a fall in the past) and signs of damage or defects that could cause the equipment to fail during use or fall arrest. If a user identifies a failure during their pre-use inspection, they are required to bring the equipment to their organization’s competent person for further inspection or to be replaced by new equipment.

The second requirement is the annual inspection. (For construction companies only in California, this level of inspection must occur once every six months.) This inspection must be performed by the organization’s competent person or an American National Standards Institute (ANSI)-accredited Fall Protection Equipment Inspector. Whether this person is an internal employee or a third-party contractor, the inspector’s organization is the one who holds the liability for inspected equipment.

The annual check follows the same process as the pre-use inspection, but each piece of equipment must be thoroughly documented, and the records kept by the employer for its entire lifespan. Other information that must be noted during the annual inspection is:

• Manufacturer name

• Model number

• Serial number

• Date of manufacture

• Type of fall protection equipment (anchor, harness or connection device)

• Date of inspection

• Certified inspector’s signature

• Pass or Fail indication

There is no mandate to perform annual inspections on all pieces of fall protection equipment at once, which could be challenging for organizations with equipment spread across several locations. However, every piece of fall protection equipment is subject to this inspection at least once every 12 months.

Employee Training

Many companies choose to perform annual equipment inspections in the summer since it is usually their busier season, especially for roofing, construction or other outdoor trades. It also provides organizations with a great opportunity to schedule fall protection training for employees to refresh their subject matter awareness, review OSHA regulations and discuss ANSI best practices for proper equipment use.

OSHA requires employers to formally train and designate workers as authorized users before they can begin using fall protection equipment. Authorized users typically must complete 4 to 8 hours of training.

This training can be conducted by the organization’s competent person or a third-party ANSI-accredited trainer, like Diversified Fall Protection. And while most industry experts recommend refresher training at least annually, there are certain circumstances when OSHA requires retraining.

First, employers must retrain employees whenever a change occurs to the equipment, work practices or location where work is being performed. Some examples of this could be new equipment replacing older equipment or when new policies affect how elevated work is performed.

Second, if a worker displays unsafe work practices or a gap in knowledge of fall protection principles, they must be retrained.

Proper Equipment Storage Techniques

It is also important to consider how fall protection equipment is stored to maintain its structural integrity and potentially extend the product’s lifespan. 

Ultraviolet (UV) exposure is one of the most common causes of damage to fall protection harnesses, especially during the summertime months.

UV exposure is inevitable while working outside, and workers should be vigilant when inspecting any fall protection equipment with fabric components. Fall protection harnesses will stretch or elongate during fall arrest to absorb some fall forces, but if exposed to too much UV radiation, the fabric material will begin losing its elastic properties. If it becomes too brittle, the user risks their harness breaking during a fall and being ejected from their personal fall protection system.

It is common to find workers simply throwing harnesses in the back of a pickup truck or hanging them on a passenger seat when they are done, but that is not best practice.

Once elevated work is complete, users are advised to store their harnesses in a cool, dark and dry area to protect the equipment. If workers are in doubt, they should consult their user manual to ensure they store the equipment according to the manufacturer’s specifications. Not only will following the manufacturer's instructions protect the longevity and integrity of the product, but it is also an OSHA requirement.

Conclusion

While the fundamental principles of fall protection and best practices that can keep workers safe do not differ much between the seasons, summertime can bring additional factors that can risk worker safety. When the weather is warmer, workers should stay hydrated, take frequent breaks and try to limit working when excessive heat conditions are present.

Falls are the most common cause of injury and fatality in the construction industry, and more falls are occurring each year — according to data from the BLS.

If productivity is anticipated to increase during summer, employers are encouraged to use their downtime to train employees and prepare training materials so elevated work can be performed safely.

If organizations need assistance with their annual inspections, training employees or ensuring their fall protection programs are OSHA & ANSI Z359 compliant, they should contact their equipment manufacturers or other fall protection partners.