ST. PAUL, Minn. – ANSI, an acronym for the American National Standards Institute, is a voluntary consensus standard and is different than OSHA standards. OSHA (the Occupational Safety and Health Administration) is a federal agency that establishes and enforces workplace health and safety standards that are required, by law, to be followed by employers. ANSI voluntary consensus standards are intended to complement government regulations that specify mandatory requirements.
In this case, ANSI/ASSE Z359.1 addresses the means of occupational fall prevention and fall arrest. It is anticipated that this newly overhauled standard will help to increase awareness and provide guidance to the complete ANSI/ASSE Z359 Fall Protection Code. Tina Angley, managing editor for Professional Safety, has written a “History & Overview of the Landmark 2016 Revision,” dubbed The New Fall Protection Code, and we have reprinted it with permission.
While ANSI standards are a set of voluntary consensus standards, “it is intended that every employer whose operations fall within the scope and purpose of the standard will adopt the guidelines and requirements that it details,” Angley suggests.
In addition to Angley providing a background of the standard and how we’ve gotten to 2016, she provides a breakdown of the codes elements and looks into the future. Read the article in full here.