['Walking Working Surfaces', 'Walkway Safety', 'Floor Openings and Holes', 'Walking Working Surface Inspections', 'Scaffolding and Mobile Work Platform Surfaces', 'Fall Protection', 'Housekeeping', 'Stairway Railings and Guides', 'Ladders', 'Dockboards']
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The Bureau of Labor Statistics says slips, trips, and falls are the leading causes of general industry workplace fatalities and injuries. The majority of incidents occur from the same level instead of falls to lower levels.
Scope
The walking-working surfaces rule applies to all general industry employers and all the walking-working surfaces in their workplaces. The rule generally does not apply to agriculture, construction, maritime, mining, or transportation employers. However, the rule may apply to construction and transportation employers that have offices, maintenance shops, warehouses, or supply rooms.
Fall hazard: Any condition on a walking-working surface that exposes an employee to a risk of harm from a fall on the same level or to a lower level.
Fall protection: Any equipment, device, or system that prevents an employee from falling from an elevation or mitigates the effect of such a fall.
Lower level: A surface or area to which an employee could fall. Such surfaces or areas include, but are not limited to, ground levels, floors, roofs, ramps, runways, excavations, pits, tanks, materials, water, equipment, and similar surfaces and structures, or portions thereof.
Unprotected sides and edges: Any side or edge of a walking-working surface (except at entrances and other points of access) where there is no wall, guardrail system, or stair rail system to protect an employee from falling to a lower level.
Walking-working surface: Any horizontal or vertical surface on or through which an employee walks, works, or gains access to a work area or workplace location.
Summary of requirements
When thinking of workplace falls, falls from higher elevations come to mind, which could result in serious or fatal injuries. Most falls occur on the same level, however, and could still cause serious injuries.
The main parts of the walking-working surfaces rule are hazard assessment, inspections, training, and equipment. All general industry employers must:
Conduct hazard assessments to determine their workplace fall and falling object hazards.
Inspect all walking and working surfaces for fall or falling object hazards on a regular basis and as necessary.
Train and retrain when necessary their employees on fall protection systems and equipment.
['Walking Working Surfaces', 'Fall Protection']
['Walking Working Surfaces', 'Walkway Safety', 'Floor Openings and Holes', 'Walking Working Surface Inspections', 'Scaffolding and Mobile Work Platform Surfaces', 'Fall Protection', 'Housekeeping', 'Stairway Railings and Guides', 'Ladders', 'Dockboards']
