Residential construction companies will be under increased pressure to meet fall protection compliance guidelines from regulators for most of this year. OSHA (the Occupational Safety and Health Adminstration) announced today that it will extend its “temporary enforcement measures” in residential construction by another six months. The directive put in place last September was set to be lifted in March, but now it will cover the summer months into September 2012.
Fatalities from falls are the number one cause of workplace death in construction, so OSHA’s announcement doesn’t come as a surprise. The temporary enforcement measures will include priority free on-site compliance assistance, penalty reductions, extended abatement dates, measures to assure consistency, and increased outreach. Over the past year, OSHA has already conducted more than 1,000 outreach sessions in the U.S.
We’ve blogged about the importance of fall protection for a few years. In a post from last November, we delved into some details about changes to residential construction fall protection guidelines from OSHA, and how the increased attention to compliance in this area is also happening in some parts of Canada. What do you think? Can increased attention from regulators or government inspectors bring down the troubling injury and incident numbers?
If you’re looking to review some key information about residential fall protection, OSHA’s webpage on the topic includes presentations, compliance aids, and other resources that may be helpful. OSHA’s complete directive on Compliance Guidance for Residential Construction is here. If you’re not already using a robust inspection management solution, it may be time to consider Field ID.
