Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Cutting Corners on Safety Could Cost You Dearly

   Allegedly BP was cost-cutting and risk-taking, in order to boost oil production output therefore reaping more profits than would otherwise be possible. BP's risk assessment failed to "see" the true extent of what would happen if certain scenarios occured, or if it did see the catastrophic scenario, BP assigned an extremely low probability of occurance and/or they weighed the impact of the outcome of such an occurance with too low a score. The result was BP did not stop oil production. The gulf is awash in crude. BP's market value is nearly cut in half. In hindsight, how would BP act now?!!!!!
   The cause-effect is a fatal explosion, loss of life, loss of a huge asset that sank, an environmental disaster that can’t seem to be plugged, fishing livelihoods ruined, tourism industry stifled, animal and plant kills, seafood industry shortages, and side-effects that ripple throughout the world economy and energy industries.
   This really does affect everyone, not just people at BP, not just the families of the deceased, not just the families of the fishermen, or the people who rely on the tourism industry. We are all impacted by this catastrophe.
   We all seem to share some of the blame, because of our incredible appetite for oil and products that can only be made from or because of oil. If BP wasn’t there to tap that huge well 18,000 feet below 5,000 feet of water, then someone else would have been. The idea that humans can do such complicated things 23,000 feet below sea level without an accident is ridiculous.
   It happened. It will (probably) happen again. This accident could happen anywhere, anytime, to any one of the other oil drilling companies. While BP is stepping up to help mitigate the effects, everyone has had a hand in this accident, because you and I all consume oil. We can’t live without it.
   Allegedly also, our Minerals Management Service (http://www.mms.gov/), an agency of the United States government Department of the Interior, wasn’t doing its job at all, or wasn’t doing it well, or was also cutting corners, being lazy, not paying attention to detail, giving BP a seal of approval that this particular site was safe (and that all the equipment being operated there was in good condition), when it was not. If MMS can’t oversee such complicated operations, then who can?
   Maybe the regulations just aren’t architected well enough? Maybe there aren’t enough honest, moral, ethical inspectors really doing their jobs correctly? Maybe they don’t get paid well enough?
Maybe certain BP managers or key decision-makers were pressured to ignore the warning signs of the impending disaster? Maybe BP just doesn’t have the proper checks and balances, internal policies and processes? Maybe BP’s compensation plan and managerial strategies just do not motivate the proper kinds of behavior of its people at all and every level of employment?
   The first key point; this accident could have been avoided. The second key point; specialized equipment and “relief wells” could have already been in place, to ameliorate the scale and scope of the incident before it became the nightmare that it is. The third key point; people have to understand the totality of their action or inaction.
   Why does it take 3 months to drill a relief well? Why wouldn’t that already exist before a well of this magnitude is tapped? Some possible explanations are: (a) because it costs too much, (b) because it takes too long and (c) our other plans to stop a blowout will work (what’s that word again, “hubris”?).
   Regulations need to be improved. Company policies, processes and procedures (and culture) need to improve. People need to improve. Technology needs to improve. The interactions between community, company and government needs to improve.
   Corruption needs to end. It’s killing our economy and our environment – hence our plants, animals, food sources – we’re killing ourselves, if not in one major disaster, then slowly over time.
   We have a long way to go – but we can hopefully learn from this (like the Exxon Valdes?) and hope for a brighter future.
   So, what are you doing to help prevent fatal fall accidents at your site? What are the implications? What can be done to prevent fatal fall accidents?
   Food for thought. God bless.

Monday, May 24, 2010

Finally! OSHA Consolidates and Harmonizes Regulations

OSHA has proposed changing the 29 CFR Part 1910 Walking-Working Surfaces and Personal Protective Equipment (Fall Protection Systems) regulations this year. These changes will drastically impact the way employers provide safety to workers. Refer to Federal Register of May 24, 2010 for the proposed new rules: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/pdf/2010-10418.pdf. This document is extremely extensive, nearly 300 pages long. Several changes bring the OSHA regulations more in tune with some general consensus standards, such as the ANSI / IWCA I-14.1-2007. Comments and requests for hearings may be made by the public until August 23, 2010 at http://www.regulations.gov.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Odd But True: OSHA Fines the U.S. Postal Service for Willful Violations at $210,000

Apparently, no one, and no organization, is immune from OSHA’s watchful eye …

US Labor Department's OSHA fines US Postal Service processing center in Bedford Park, Ill., $210,000 for willful safety violations

http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=17655

 

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

"Remember the dead - Fight for the living"

We feel this awareness in Nevada is a step in the right direction! Workers Memorial Day...
"Remember the dead - Fight for the living."
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   Contact: Andrew Stoddard   Wednesday, April 28, 2010   Phone: 202-225-3252   http://www.titus.house.gov/   Titus Commemorates Workers Memorial Day
Washington, D.C. - Congresswoman Dina Titus of Nevada's Third District spoke on the House floor this morning on Workers Memorial Day, which is commemorated every year on April 28. Below are her remarks as delivered. Click VIDEO here to watch Titus' speech.
"Today I join with people across the country to commemorate Workers Memorial Day, honoring workers killed, injured, or harmed at work. "Unfortunately,

Monday, April 26, 2010

OSHA Increasing Fines and Penalties SIGNIFICANTLY!

The days of "playing the numbers game" with fatalities in the workplace vs. fines or worse, litigation and settlements and insurance premiums is coming to an end ... the Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP) is coming to town. Willful violations will start at $250,000 and go up from

Know Your Worker Rights Under the OSHA Act of 1970

You do not need to work under unsafe conditions. You do not need to be forced to put your own life in danger of serious injury or death. You have a right to come home to your families every day after work.

You have a right to

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

With Fall Protection Safety: CAVEAT EMPTOR!

This story is one repeated over and over again. We've seen it many times.
Now we've decided to write about it. This is a very serious situation. Buyer
Beware!
Recently we visited a Class A office building in Florida on invitation of

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Diabetes Affects Everyone - Please Help

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) http://www.diabetes.org/ is in the process of starting a movement to Stop Diabetes. On Tuesday, March 23, is the 22nd annual American Diabetes Association Alert Day. This is a one-day "wake up call" to let all Americans know about the seriousness of diabetes -- especially when left undiagnosed and untreated. You are encouraged to

Saturday, February 20, 2010

H.R.2067 - Protecting America's Workers Act of 2009 (PAWA)

Even though the statistics for 2008 appear to show improvement in worker safety, there is very important legislation being developed in the U.S. Congress, one is the Protecting America's Workers Act of 2009 (PAWA. Some highlights of

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

OSHA News Release, U.S. DOL; Construction Company Cited $70,000 for Lack of Fall Protection During Maintenance of Building Resulting in Fatal Fall

US Labor Department's OSHA cites Pittsburgh construction company for lack of fall protection following worker's death

PITTSBURGH -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Mariani & Richards Inc. for failing to protect workers from falls on a construction site following the investigation of a worker who fell 225 feet to

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

OSHA Releases Fall Statistics for 2008; GOOD NEWS!!!

It is with amazement and great pleasure we present the statistics from OSHA
including the year 2008, in the two tables below, from OSHA, along with our
comments.
Fatal falls nationwide FELL 20% from 847 in 2007 (the worst year on record)
to 680 in 2008, a number not seen since 1995, fifteen (15) years ago! The
fatality rate per 100,000 hours worked dropped by 10% overall since 2007. We
don't have

OSHA Releases Fall Statistics for 2008; Table 1 and Table 2

Table 2

Table 1

Thursday, February 4, 2010

ANSI ASSE Z359 Standards of 2007 and 2009; Attempting to Help Reduce Fatal Fall Accidents

Since around 1994 until now, all workplace fatalities have decreased about 12%. This number includes fatalities due to falls. Sounds good right? Work is getting safer, right?
WRONG! In the same time period, fatalities due to FALLS HAVE INCREASED ABOUT 30%. In the USA about 750 people die in fatal

Thursday, January 14, 2010

The 2010 Earthquake of Haiti

!!! PLEASE HELP VICTIMS OF THE MASSIVE JANUARY 12, 2010 EARTHQUAKE IN HAITI
!!!


Please Donate Now
www.unicef.org
www.care.org
www.doctorswithoutborders.org
www.redcross.org

And many other organizations here ... http://www.google.com/relief/haitiearthquake/

For more information see the U.S. Department of State Official Blog ... http://blogs.state.gov/

God Bless,
David Kuketz

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Seasons Greetings to All from No Fall Company

We'd like to thank everyone for a great 2009 and wish you all our best Season's Greetings and a very Happy New Year!
 
Kind Regards,
David Kuketz, Manager
No Fall Company, LLC
 

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

OSHA's Reports Working at Heights in Top Ten Violations for 2009 - Three (3) Times!

OSHA recently reported the top three violations for 2009

- Scaffolding (over 9000 violations)
- Fall Protection (nearly 7000 violations)
- Ladders (over 3000 violations)

A quick look at the 2009 citations by OSHA show penalties often in the tens of thousands and into the hundreds of thousands for such violations (http://www.osha.gov). The government statistics do not show the impact to business, morale, or legal fees, litigation and the resulting settlements due to such violations and / or accidents that lead up to them.

Monday, November 2, 2009

Fall Protection Violations Are Up and 2nd in top 10 Violations in 2009 So Far!

A preliminary report issued by the National Safety Council shows 6,771 Fall Protection Violations in 2009 so far (as of October) and up about 30% since 2008.

The report does not tally the dollar figure for the violations cited by OSHA, nor the litigation or settlement costs of any fall accidents for the same time period.

See the report here:
http://www.nsc.org/Pages/OSHAReportsonTop10SafetyViolationsfor2009.aspx

Friday, October 30, 2009

OSHA Issues RECORD-BREAKING Fines to BP, More than $87,000,000!

What is a life worth? What is safety worth? Well in this case, with the fines, legal fees, damage to reputation and good will, and actual costs incurred - it is measured in the $B's of dollars ...

Taken from OSHA National News Release, U.S. Department of Labor, OSHA, Office of Communications

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

BOMA Supports the ANSI / IWCA I-14.1

BOMA (the International Building Owners and Managers Association) fully endorses and supports the ANSI / IWCA I-14.1 Window Cleaning Safety Standard, now a National Concensus Standard of OSHA, and used extensively for citations in support of fines, fees and also being used by attorneys to litigate accidents, negligence and risk issues.

The full link (as of 2009, Oct 28) here: http://www.boma.org/Advocacy/Standards/Pages/WindowCleaningSafetyStandard-IWCA1-14.1.aspx

What is a Personal Fall Arrest System?

Confused about what is a personal fall arrest system (PFAS) and more importantly, the rules for anchorage of PFAS?

OSHA defines a PFAS in at least three separate documents:

Monday, October 26, 2009

Types of Falls

The most general type of falls involving buildings are "falls from roof". Another category, usually for new construction sites, is "falls from roof structural member".

Falls from roof can be from "unprotected" walking surface, that is, no guard rail or no parapet wall of proper height. This is quite common, and can be easily avoided.

There is another particular classification of falls, the "falls thru roof", as follows:

  • roof opening
  • sky lights
  • non-supportive materials (old, weak, deteriorated)
  • unspecified

Many falls are caused simply due to carelessness or lack of fall prevention equipment. Most fall injuries can be avoided or minimized via the use of fall protection equipment.

Fall Statistics

The source of this information is OSHA, the Department of Labor (DOL), or the Center for Disease Control (CDC):

  • 14% of all fall accidents are fatal.
  • Since 1992 serious injuries and fatalities due to falls have been on the rise in spite of new regulations and better operations and practices.
  • In 2006 there were 809 fall accident fatalities in the USA; from roofs, unprotected walks, ladders, scaffolding, staging, etc.
  • Surprisingly, the distribution of falls of various heights from 6' to over 100' is roughly evenly spread out. Fatalities from falls of under 6' are rare. Falls to hard surfaces tend to be more fatal (abrupt deceleration causes severe unjuries, head injuries substantial).
  • Falls cost businesses over $170B a year in medical, wages, lower productivity, lower morale and other negative impacts.
  • The actual number of non-fatal fall accidents is unknown, as not all are reported.
  • The costs of litigation and settlements is unknown.
  • The costs of OSHA citations can be quite substantial.

Monday, October 19, 2009

The OSHA "General Duty" Clause

Each employer has a fiduciary responsibility for safety and safe working conditions.

According to OSHA Act of 1970 // SEC. 5. Duties

(a) Each employer -- (1) shall furnish to each of his employees employment and a place of employment which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his employees; and (2) shall comply with occupational safety and health standards promulgated under this Act.

(b) Each employee -- shall comply with occupational safety and health standards and all rules, regulations, and orders issued pursuant to this Act which are applicable to his own actions and conduct.

Friday, September 25, 2009

OSHA Annual Inspection - Don't Forget to Inspect *AND* Keep Records!

Don't forget your OSHA Annual Inspections of your roof anchors and engineered fall protection systems and window cleaning equipment - a competent person (qualified person) shall inspect roof anchors, davits, horizontal lifelines and other permanently installed fall protection and prevention and window cleaning equipment on buildings each and every year.

See our post about the OSHA requirements per the ANSI/IWCA I-14.1 from August 2008. See also the OSHA code 1910.66 at http://www.osha.gov/, regarding inspecting. And,

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Fallacy of Fall Protection From Manually Rigged Horizontal Lines

Over the past several years, we have seen many a "jury rigged" fall protection "system" on the roof tops of buildings. By this we mean a chaotic assembly of hand-tied ropes and / or cables, attached to roof vents, plumbing, HVAC equipment stands, conduits or other 'structures', thus spreading the 'load' of the suspended worker(s) and their powered platforms or boatswain chairs, or the load of a worker falling from an unprotected roof edge or walking / working surface.

FIGURE:1
Effect of a rigged horizontal line being used to suspend a 1,250 lb. working load, when the sag is only 1.2" and the line is 20' in length; the load in the line is 41,663 lbs. !!! Sag must be sufficiently increased so the load in the line is less than 5,000 lbs.


Problem #1
Ropes are

Monday, September 7, 2009

Certain OSHA Regulations Regarding Working at Heights

People are often confused by what regulations are actually in OSHA codes vs. which are incorporated by reference in consensus standards such as the ANSI/IWCA I-14.1. Below are a few OSHA codes that are mandatory ...

ANSI / IWCA 1-14.1 Important Lifesaving Standard Guidelines

CERTAIN OSHA CONCENSUS STANDARD CODES FROM IWCA/ANSI I-14.1-2001
Below are excerpts from the I-14.1 explaining certain codes that must be followed in the window cleaning industry, which includes the workers, the window cleaning companies, the building management companies that hire them, and the building owners ...

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Boatswain Chair Usage With Safety Tieback Anchors; Angles for Lifelines

Standard Interpretations 04/19/2006 - Safe tieback angles for controlled boatswain's chairs. Click title for more ...

OSHA Interpretation of Single Point Anchor for Simultaneous Usage

Standard Interpretations 03/08/2002 - Acceptable use of single point anchor systems for window cleaning operations. Click title for more ...

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Regulations for Fall Protection and Prevention at Extreme Heights

In window cleaning and other suspended work industries, there are specific regulations for work at certain heights. The breakpoints are at 130’ and 300’. Read on for additional info ...

Friday, July 24, 2009

OSHA Interpretation Letter of March 28, 2005; ANSI/IWCA I-14.1

This OSHA Interpretation Letter was taken from http://www.osha.gov/ and outlines the rules regarding the ANSI / IWCA I-14.1-2001 and how it will be used in citations. Click title to read more ...

OSHA Interpretation Letter of October 1, 1998; Rules for 300'

This letter taken from http://www.osha.gov/ outlines rules for suspended work over 300' using a powered platform. Click title to read more ...

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Florida Roofing Firm Fined $54,100 for 9 Violations

OSHA cited a Pompano, FL roofing company with 9 violations and $54,100 in fines 6 months after a worker fell 30 feet to his death., because this worker had no fall protection and also because the roofing company continued to expose workers to the very same hazard!

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/sfl-bn-0311roofer,0,3202455.story

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Engineered Fall Prevention System

In this photo clearly visible, certified anchors are being used for three purposes, as follows:

1) The first purpose is to

Friday, March 6, 2009

$70,000 OSHA Fine to Contractor in Massachusetts

This incident was "willfull" and the potential fall was 50' high - no fall occured and no injury occured. OSHA is doing the right thing!

http://safetyduck.blogspot.com/2009/03/i-just-dont-get-it.html

It's like getting people to wear seat belts (or helmets) - inconvenient, time consuming, uncomfortable - and it flies in the face of the "it won't happen to me" attitude. The fact is, people have car (and motorcycle) accidents and seat belts (and helmets) save lives, and prevent injury - at least as compared to not wearing one. Think about the costs to business of all the accidents that could be avoided. Think about the cost to businesses when a worker dies. Insurance companies should charge higher premiums to those who don't comply, and offer discounts to those who do (like safe driver programs). Workers who fail to wear their PPE should get fines (ie "tickets") every time it happens, and 3 strikes and you are out ("FIRED!"). If the employer or the property owner / manager or general contractor doesn't enforce this, they should be fined severely - and let those fines help pay for the financial bailouts (ha!).

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Fall Protection is the 3rd Most Cited Issue per OSHA

For 2008 there were nearly 5,000 violations of "Fall Protection" discovered by OSHA. They are getting serious about saving lives, and consequently, about writing citations and issuing fines. Numerous citations have been over $100,000. The cost of prevention and having the proper equipment is significantly less - do you want to play safety roulette?

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Powered Platform Accident in Texas Closes Streets

Photo by MyFox News Dallas, TX
Thursday, November 13, 2008 this powered platform fell 45 feet, breaking glass windows and damaging property before coming to rest 46 floors above the streets below. Broken glass fell and fortunately no one was injured. The workers were rescued.

Friday, September 19, 2008

ZERO TOLERANCE!

Canada appears to be stepping up its efforts to prevent fatalities from falls. Recently companies have been fined quite severely in Canada for accidents and for infractions of safety regulations. The great news is the Pro-Active approach to prevention and protection - saving lives.
Here in the USA we suffer from

Friday, September 12, 2008

Father's Fatal Fall

Wearing harness but not tied in to an anchor ...

DAD'S DEATH FALL
TRAGEDY IN HARLEM FOR BELOVED HARDHAT

By ERIK SHILLING and BILL SANDERSON

Posted: 3:47 am September 12, 2008 at New York Post

A construction worker described by his sobbing wife as "the support of his family" plunged four stories to his death yesterday when one end of his suspended-platform scaffold gave way from a Harlem building, authorities said.
Miguel Rodriguez's widow and 7-year-old son, Kevin, wept and hugged one another at the spot where he died yesterday afternoon.
"He was there for his son," said Berta Rodriguez, 40. "He was the support of the family. I stayed and took care of the kids, and he'd go out to work every day."
Miguel, 38, leaves another son, who is 17.
The Ecuadorian immigrant was wearing a safety harness, but it was not secured to anything that could have prevented his plunge from the fifth story of 266 W. 111th St. to a sidewalk shed four stories below, authorities said.
Officials weren't sure yesterday why the

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

News from the Bureau of Labor Statistics




The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Bureau of Labor Statistics has just released its August 20, 2008 Report for 2007.

Since 1992 the fatal falls stat has increased 39% to 835, from 600. See the green trend-line in the chart, taken from the DOL BLS 2007 report.

This in spite of new and improved OSHA regulations and industry concensus standards such as the I-14.1-2001, not to mention most construction firms now have the new post of "Safety Director" to create safety manuals, monitor practices on site, prevent accidents before they happen. Unfortunately, there aren't enough OSHA inspectors for all the

Fatal Falls in 2007 Sets a Record! (not good)

At the "pump handle", Christina Morgan writes there were 835 fatal falls in 2007, and, each and every one of them were (or should have been ) preventable... and the workers whose lives are literally hanging on the line everyday have come to the sad disposition that they have to live with these circumstances - that coming home to their families at the end of the day is a statistical probability, but not an absolute.

Please read here ---> http://thepumphandle.wordpress.com/2008/09/08/this-happens/

Friday, August 15, 2008

Window Washers Die in 40-Foot Lift Tip-Over


2 Window Washers Die in 40-Foot Fall
By THE NEW YORK TIMES
Published: August 5, 2008

Two cousins who were window washers fell to their deaths while working on a financial district building early on Tuesday, the police said.
They identified the victims as Robert Fabrizio, 35, of Las Vegas, and Garin Fabrizio, 37, of Milford, Pa.
The two were working in a crane

Firefighters Rescue Dangling Window Washers

From: The Canadian Press August 15, 2008
Edmonton -- Two window washers who were left dangling by their safety harnesses after their platform collapsed beneath them yesterday were rescued from the side of the downtown Edmonton law courts building.
Firefighters got the workers down and one of the men was treated for a cut to the back of his head.
The cause of the accident is under investigation.

Scaffold Blown Around Like a Kite in Miami


(One reason for certified anchorages, and Intermittent Stabilization Anchors; avoid injury, avoid damage to building, avoid worse news, avoid injuring 3rd parties)

From: NBC6.net

Caught On Tape: Construction Workers On Scaffold Whipped By WindPOSTED: 9:19 am EDT July 16, 2008 / UPDATED: 9:50 am EDT July 16, 2008
MIAMI -- A viewer used his cell phone to capture video images of a scaffold swinging and shaking uncontrollably on a Miami high-rise Tuesday afternoon, and the stormy weather isn't over for South Florida yet.
Construction workers who were working

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

ANSI / IWCA I-14.1-2001: an OSHA National Consensus Standard for Window Cleaning (Highlights)

The ANSI / IWCA I-14.1-2001 is an OSHA National Consensus Standard. It has been referenced in several OSHA CITATIONS (found elsewhere in this blog) -- buildings new and old need to meet the requirements of this standard. A few highlights (click title for more):

Window Washer Fatally Injured in Fort Meyers, FL

From: Wink News

Window washer falls 8 stories, By Althea Paul, WINK News
Story Created: Jun 15, 2007 at 1:20 PM EDT, Story Updated: Jun 16, 2007 at 6:56 PM EDT
South Fort Myers - Friday morning a window washer fell 8 stories and died. The accident happened around 8:30am in South Lee County.
According to the Lee County Sheriff's Office, the window washer was working

Window Washer Critically Injured in Orlando, FL

From the Orlando Sentinel
Orlando, Fl, May 13, 2008, page B.3, section Local & State
Worker injured in fall off roof
ORLANDO---A window washer was critically injured Monday when he fell from the rooftop of Florida Hospital Orlando, police said. Jose Montalbo, 31, of Kissimmee suffered numerous broken bones and bleeding from his head, according to a police report. He was in critical condition late Monday at Orlando Regional Medical Center. Why he fell is not yet known. Which window cleaning company Mr. Montalbo works for is not known. Why he was moved from Florida Hospital to the ORMC is not known.

Saturday, January 5, 2008

New York City Window Cleaning Fall Accident 2007


Here’s a positive update on the recent New York City window cleaning accident…
In the national news Friday morning (Jan 4, 2008) was a report the surviving brother has improved significantly from this tragic accident. It’s being called “a miracle”. Imagine surfing a falling platform down the wall of a tall building! These are the creations of movies, not real life…
GOOGLE "new york city window cleaning accident"
It seems two mistakes may have lead to this event (a) a faulty platform / scaffold or faulty suspension lines and (b) workers not using safety lines independently tied off. If they suspected the platform was unsafe, as earlier reports stated, why wouldn’t they tie themselves off to safety tie-backs? The presumption is maybe there weren’t any tiebacks on the building.
Apparently, according to the news, the family of the deceased window cleaner has filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the building managers and scaffold company. No matter what the outcome, it will not bring him back.
Please forward to your friends and associates who are in the industry to help raise awareness of hazard identification, hazard reduction, fall protection, fall prevention and risk mitigation.

Monday, October 22, 2007

What's in a Safety Plan?

OSHA requires that a fall protection & prevention Safety Plan be in written form, that it be between a building owner or its representatives and each subcontractor, and that it be signed by an authorized person from each party. Note that each Safety Plan is site-specific, thus, it contains information unique to

Monday, October 8, 2007

OSHA References to ANSI I-14.1; It Is Law

Building managers and engineers have been asking, "is the ANSI I-14.1 a requirement, is it a code that we must adhere to?" For some, the answer isn't a clear "yes" or "no", but "it depends". Technically, there is a gray area here. We like to think that the answer is an emphatic YES! Please see the links to OSHA below for our proof. (click title for more)

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Who's Responsible if an Anchor is Loose?

A building manager asked recently who's responsible if one of the anchors on the building roof is loose. The answer is "it depends on why the anchor is loose". The original installer should warrantee the work for at least a year from the date of substantial completion. The manufacturer should warrantee the product for at least a year. If the installer and / or manufacturer cannot or will not correct the problem, then you might contact another anchor installation company for help. If the anchors are out of warrantee, then it is the building owner's and building manager's responsibility... (click title for more)

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Safety Tieback (Anchor) Rules

These are the general rules of thumb for locating safety tieback anchors - as per the ANSI / IWCA I-14.1-2001 - and per generally accepted best practices and common sense ... (click title for more)

The Meaning of Safety as it Pertains to Building Maintenance

If one reads all the OSHA regulations regarding the location of tiebacks (safety anchors), the strength or holding power, setbacks and spacing rules, it becomes clear that if you are in "construction" vs. "shipyards" vs. "general industry" different interpretations are possible. We like to think of safety as a concept and that it extends to all facets of a building, operations, training, equipment, people, awareness, education, and

Friday, August 31, 2007

Welcome Message

Welcome to the No Fall Company, LLC Fall Protection and Prevention blog. This site is intended as an informational service only. We welcome questions and comments, anything that promotes safe working practices as they relate to the General Duty Clause of OSHA to provide a safe working environment, pertaining to suspended work and working at heights, or near potential fall hazards.