by Shane Henson — January 23, 2013—Construction managers as well as facilities managers who are overseeing renovation and construction projects may find a new construction safety standard helpful. In order to further prevent worker falls and fatalities on construction sites worldwide, the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) has announced that its ANSI/ASSE A10.32-2012 Standard—Personal Fall Protection Used in Construction and Demolition Operations has been revised and is now available for use.
The release of the new A10.32 Standard comes in the midst of an ongoing fall prevention campaign by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) that focuses on providing prevention information and training materials on three major types of falls: from roofs, from ladders and from scaffolds. ASSE recently announced its support of this campaign.
According to the organization, the increased focus on fall protection on construction sites has been caused by the rise in injuries and fatalities due to on-the-job falls. In 2010, more than 10,000 construction workers were injured as a result of falling while working from heights in the United States, and another 225 were killed.
The purpose of the revised A10.32 is to provide minimum guidelines for fall protection equipment, to establish performance criteria for this equipment in construction and demolition, and to make recommendations for use and inspection.
To further protect the users of fall protection systems, the standard permits:
- Only full body harnesses shall be used for fall arrest. The fall arrest attachment point of the body harness shall be at the center of the user’s back near shoulder level.
- Maximum arresting force imposed on the user’s body shall not exceed 1,800 pounds.
- All equipment used in a fall protection system shall be compatible to limit force levels, maintain system strength and prevent accidental disengagement.
- Equipment serviced by the manufacturer or their authorized representative shall be capable of meeting all performance requirements of this standard.
“Equally as important as the new equipment criteria is the standard’s emphasis on the need for pre-planning, job hazard analysis and a written site-specific safety plan,” added Dan Paine, A10.32 Subgroup Chair.
