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LJB project manager Tracey Riepenhoff, P.E., C.S.P., PMP, has led and performed hundreds of fall hazard risk assessments and abatement design projects for LJB clients. It’s meaningful work that Tracey never takes lightly—knowing that her expertise may be the difference between someone safely working at heights and someone suffering a catastrophic fall. But, for Tracey, […]
There are a variety of worthy New Year’s resolutions to consider as we enter 2018. If worker safety is important to you, I encourage you to pledge to improve your organization’s fall protection program this year. Last fall, OSHA announced that fall protection citations ranked as the top violation for the seventh year in a […]
While our previous post in this series focused on the new requirement for ladder safety systems, this post discusses some additional requirements that affect ladder use and design. Here are a few of the most common questions we have received about ladders. Are chains acceptable to protect ladder openings? I often see chains at the […]
Following up on Volume 3 in our series, this installment answers additional questions related to the new requirement for conducting fall hazard assessments. When does the assessment need to be complete? Technically, the new regulation became rule in January 2017, so it is theoretically required now. If you don’t have documentation of a compliant assessment […]
This installment in our blog series on new OSHA fall protection regulations focuses on common questions related to fall hazard assessments. One of the most significant requirements provided in the new rule is the stated need for the assessment of fall hazards, as outlined in 1910.132(d). It’s important to note that this is an existing […]
Fixed ladders are among the many aspects of fall protection that are impacted by the recently published OSHA 1910 regulations. While the regulation went into effect on January 17, OSHA is allowing time to get your organization into compliance. While some minor changes are required for clearances, rung spacing, step-across distance, and other ladder design […]
In a recent fall protection peer group session, we asked a question that received a surprisingly unanimous answer. When asked for the primary reason fall hazards get addressed, every participant said the same thing – when issues are brought forward by workers. We were surprised that every participating organization took such a reactive approach to […]
After our recent series of webinars on fall hazard risk assessments, we have had a number of requests for a recorded version. If you attended and would like to review the presentation, or would like to pass the information on to your colleagues, the presentation can be viewed here. I hope the content will help […]
During a recent webinar on fall hazard risk assessments, one of the participants asked, “What is unacceptable risk?” It’s a very difficult question, and your perspective matters a lot when you answer it. The way I answered then and would answer again harkens back to a famous judgment from Supreme Court justice Potter Stewart in […]
The Spot 
Reducing Fall Hazard Risk: Perform Fall Hazard Risk Assessments—the Right Way
For this year’s National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction, I’m sharing the top five ways to reduce fall hazard risk, based on my more than 25 years in fall protection consulting. The first way is applying Prevention through Design. The second? Perform fall hazard risk assessments—the right way. The goal of a fall […]