Thanks to firefighters, two window washers in San Jose were rescued after their platform got stuck 100 feet (nine stories) in the air. They were stranded for more than an hour until the firefighters rappelled down and hoisted them up one at a time.

If you think being stranded for more than an hour in the air is unfortunate, you might have not heard of the construction worker who died after falling from a Manhattan skyscraper. The man, identified as Anthony Esposito, fell from a height of 500 feet and was believed to have unhooked the safety harness he was wearing right before he fell to his death.

While the two incidents have different endings, they share many similarities. For one, they involve employees meeting unfortunate events in the workplace. For two, they are both not inevitable.

Fall Protection

If only employers and employees pay more attention to safety, there will be less accidents and fatalities in the workplace.

We have discussed before the importance of preparing a response plan for fall-related emergencies. Today, we’ll look into more ways to control and eliminate falls in the workplace.

Whether you’re on a platform, a ladder or a moving vehicle, you need protection from falling. You can’t always trust your body to have perfect balance all the time.

Did you know that falls from scaffolds, roofs, and ladders constitute half of all disabling falls to lower levels? These falls are often due to loss of balance because of tripping, slipping, and shifting or unstable ladders.

With fall protection equipment like personal-fall-arrest systems, positioning-device systems, and safety-net systems, you can prevent fatalities and injuries for tasks that require working in high places.

Prevention Begins Protection

If you think fall protection is all about wearing a hard hat and a safety harness, think again. It all starts with controlling fall hazards in your workplace. By using equipment and installations like covers, parapet walls, handrails, guardrails, perimeter cables, and personal-fall-restraint systems, you can easily prevent falls from happening.

First thing’s first, you must identify areas in your workplace that pose fall hazards. Next, you must train your workers by informing them about these areas. They should also take part in recognizing work areas that may cause falls.

Make sure you provide employees copies of safety meetings that discuss procedures in making use of fall protection equipment and responding to fall-related emergencies. If you have employees who have to work in remote areas, you must consider training them on how to rescue themselves.

Elimination is the Best Savior

Overall, eliminating fall hazards is the best way to do away with accidents. Some ways to eliminate fall hazards are the following:

• Using tool extensions when performing work from the ground
• Installing permanent stairs and guardrails before starting with projects
• Installing guardrails and anchorages on formwork and structural steel beams on the ground before lifting them into place

We’ve said it a hundred times before and we’ll say it again: Accidents are not inevitable. Falls are no different. With a combination of the right installations, equipment, and training, you don’t have to deal with fall-related emergencies in your workplace.

Thanks to firefighters, two window washers in San Jose were rescued after their platform got stuck 100 feet (nine stories) in the air. They were stranded for more than an hour until the firefighters rappelled down and hoisted them up one at a time.

If you think being stranded for more than an hour in the air is unfortunate, you might have not heard of the construction worker who died after falling from a Manhattan skyscraper. The man, identified as Anthony Esposito, fell from a height of 500 feet and was believed to have unhooked the safety harness he was wearing right before he fell to his death.

While the two incidents have different endings, they share many similarities. For one, they involve employees meeting unfortunate events in the workplace. For two, they are both not inevitable.

Fall Protection

If only employers and employees pay more attention to safety, there will be less accidents and fatalities in the workplace.

We have discussed before the importance of preparing a response plan for fall-related emergencies. Today, we’ll look into more ways to control and eliminate falls in the workplace.

Whether you’re on a platform, a ladder or a moving vehicle, you need protection from falling. You can’t always trust your body to have perfect balance all the time.

Did you know that falls from scaffolds, roofs, and ladders constitute half of all disabling falls to lower levels? These falls are often due to loss of balance because of tripping, slipping, and shifting or unstable ladders.

With fall protection equipment like personal-fall-arrest systems, positioning-device systems, and safety-net systems, you can prevent fatalities and injuries for tasks that require working in high places.

Prevention Begins Protection

If you think fall protection is all about wearing a hard hat and a safety harness, think again. It all starts with controlling fall hazards in your workplace. By using equipment and installations like covers, parapet walls, handrails, guardrails, perimeter cables, and personal-fall-restraint systems, you can easily prevent falls from happening.

First thing’s first, you must identify areas in your workplace that pose fall hazards. Next, you must train your workers by informing them about these areas. They should also take part in recognizing work areas that may cause falls.

Make sure you provide employees copies of safety meetings that discuss procedures in making use of fall protection equipment and responding to fall-related emergencies. If you have employees who have to work in remote areas, you must consider training them on how to rescue themselves.

Elimination is the Best Savior

Overall, eliminating fall hazards is the best way to do away with accidents. Some ways to eliminate fall hazards are the following:

• Using tool extensions when performing work from the ground
• Installing permanent stairs and guardrails before starting with projects
• Installing guardrails and anchorages on formwork and structural steel beams on the ground before lifting them into place

We’ve said it a hundred times before and we’ll say it again: Accidents are not inevitable. Falls are no different. With a combination of the right installations, equipment, and training, you don’t have to deal with fall-related emergencies in your workplace.

Helpful Links:

• Emergency Response Plan for Fall-Related Emergencies
• 2 Window Washers Die in New York City
• New Lead in the Window Washing Accident