Frontiers in Fall Prevention:
Online Inventory of Residential Fall Protection Devices
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One of more than 150 fall protection devices for residential construction
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Falls from height remain the most common cause of construction worker fatalities, and falls continue to happen at an alarming rate -- especially in residential construction. After years under special "interim" fall protection guidelines, OSHA is now enforcing the same stringent standards in homebuilding that have long applied in commercial construction.
Many residential construction contractors are still learning about the array of fall protection devices available, some of them quite new. A Washington University at St. Louis research team supported by CPWR and NIOSH has stepped up to help by creating an online inventory of fall protection devices suitable for use in residential construction.
The team brought a wealth of experience to the task, having spent years collaborating with framing contractors and frame carpenters in the St. Louis-area to reduce falls. Their efforts included a fall prevention technology lending program that enabled contractors to borrow, field-test and rate various fall prevention devices, from hanging scaffolds to anchorage systems aimed at the challenges of wood-framed construction.
The resulting inventory is an impressive list of more than 150 products made by 23 different manufacturers. Visitors to the website can access the devices by product type (e.g., hole covers, or personal fall arrest systems) or by phase of construction (e.g., setting trusses, or installing siding). The site is obviously meeting an essential need: within two weeks of its unveiling, the site drew more than 1,000 unique visitors. Please visit the Fall Protection Resource for New Home Construction -- and share it with your peers and colleagues in the industry.
If you'd like to learn how it all was done, visit www.cpwr.com for a report describing the effort: Fall Protection Resources for New Home Construction.
Pete Stafford
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CPWR IN PRINTRecently Published Journal Articles by CPWR Scholars Risks of a lifetime in construction, part II: Traumatic injuriesKnut Ringen, John Dement, Laura Welch, Xiuwen Sue Dong, Eula Bingham and Patricia Quinn. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, November 2014. Risks of a lifetime in construction, part I: Traumatic injuries Xiuwen Sue Dong, Knut Ringen, Laura Welch, and John Dement American Journal of Industrial Medicine, September 2014.
Exploring physical exposures and identifying high-risk work tasks within the floor layer trade. Jamie McGaha, Kim Miller, Alexis Descatha, Laurie Welch, Bryan Buchholz, Bradley Evanoff, Ann Marie Dale. Applied Ergonomics, July 2014.
Fatalities in the construction industry: findings from a revision of the BLS Occupational Injury and Illness classification system. Xiuwen Dong, Julie Largay, Xuanwen Wang, and Janice Windau. Monthly Labor Review, July 2014.
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ONLINE RESOURCES
Find the latest on regulatory efforts and Create-A-Plan to control exposures at Work Safely with Silica -- a one-stop source of information on how to prevent a silica hazard and protect workers
eLCOSH is the premier online source for construction health and safety information, with research, training materials, fact sheets and more
Construction Solutions is a safety and health database designed with construction contractors and workers in mind - an inventory of common industry hazards paired with common-sense solutions
Visit CPWR for information on our training programs, research findings, and resources for your health and safety or research initiatives
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ABOUT US CPWR -- The Center for Construction Research and Training is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization created by the Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO. Working with partners like you in business, labor, government, and the universities, we strive every day to make work safer for the 9 million men and women who work in the U.S. construction industry!
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