Working at height can be a risky business. According to U.S. OSHA, “more than 800 construction workers die every year while on the job. Falls are the number one cause of fatalities in construction. Falls cause one of every three construction worker deaths. These falls happen in a split second while workers are on roofs, scaffolds, ladders, bridges, and other work surfaces.”[i]
That’s why many personal fall arrest systems rely on lifeline materials to perform in hazardous conditions where falls from height are a definite possibility. And the risk of working at height can be compounded for someone where a leading or sharp edge may exist.
In these situations, using the wrong combination of fall protection products, or not being properly trained on how to use fall protection equipment, can have disastrous results. That’s why its critically important to not only understand sharp and leading edge hazards, but to make sure you have the right equipment and training for these situations and that you use a fall protection system specifically designed to address leading edge hazards while working at height.
Learn more about leading edge situations and the appropriate fall protection equipment by checking out this article in Modern Contractor magazine published in February 2020 featuring Ray Mann, QSSP, Global Senior Specialist Application Engineer, 3M™ Fall Protection technical services.
Read our article in Modern Contractor here.
We also encourage you to seek out assistance from our safety specialists to discuss what fall protection and systems may be necessary for your job site.
Resources:
[i] https://www.osha.gov/dts/vtools/construction/falls_leading_edge_fnl_eng_web_transcript.html and
https://www.osha.gov/dts/vtools/construction/scaffolding_fnl_eng_web_transcript.html#:~:text=In%20the%20U.S.%2C%20more%20than,year%20while%20on%20the%20job.&text=Falls%20cause%20one%20of%20every%20three%20construction%20worker%20deaths.