| Is Your Workplace Safe from Preventable Falls?
You may think so, but according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, FALLS ARE THE LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH IN CONSTRUCTION. In 2023, there were 421 fatal falls to a lower level out of 1,075 construction fatalities.
These deaths are preventable.
The most common cause of falls in the workplace frequently involve:
- Unprotected edges.
- Unsafely positioned ladders.
- Misused fall protection.
- Water, grease, and other contaminants on the floor.
- Clutter and tripping hazards in walkways.
- Irregularities in the floor and wall openings.
Employers must set up the workplace to prevent employees from falling off of overhead platforms, elevated workstations or into holes in the floor and walls.
Can you guarantee that your business is safe if an employee falls and becomes injured at your workplace?
If an employer's negligence contributed to the fall (e.g., failure to provide a safe work environment, failure to address a known hazard), they may face legal action, especially if they didn't have workers' compensation insurance.
In November 2024, a 54-year-old male employee was working to repair a roof leak at a local nonprofit when he fell from the roof through a skylight. The man suffered fatal head trauma after landing onto the facility’s concrete floor. OSHA investigators later identified five violations of workplace health and safety regulations. An OSHA news release listed a failure by the nonprofit to assess workplace hazards and a failure to provide fall protection training to employees, among others. The Central Florida nonprofit will pay $120,817 in penalties. They also failed to report the workplace death to OSHA within the mandatory 8-hour window and lacked a hazard communication program. Read more from the news release here
When was the last time your employees received Fall Protection & Prevention training?
Susan Harwood Training Grants made available by OSHA are used to support initiatives designed to create safer workplaces, and in turn aim to advance job quality for the workforce by providing instructor led training for workers, supervisors and employers in small businesses, industries with high injury, illness, and fatality rates; and vulnerable, underserved workers, many who have limited English proficiency or employed in temporary jobs.
The Florida Safety Council's Free Fall Protection & Prevention Training is a 4.5-hour course targeted to an audience of small construction companies, sub-contractors and workers who work in high-risk, high-hazard, high-fatality positions. Training topics include roof safety, ladder regulations, aerial lifts, scaffolds, guardrails, safety nets, proper lanyards, connectors and anchor points, and other construction hazards. Training will initially be conducted in English.
Florida Safety Council's next Free Fall Protection & Prevention Training is scheduled July 23, 2025, at our Orlando Training Center. If you or your company meets the above-mentioned grant criteria, and have employees interested in attending this free course, please REGISTER HERE
For questions about eligibility to attend the class at no cost, course content, or to register, please contact: Lisa Rutherford, Occupational Safety Administrator at: (407) 897-4443 or LRutherford@floridasafety.org.
Fall Protection - Overview | Occupational Safety and Health Administration
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