Fall Protection

Falls are a common cause of serious work-related injuries and deaths. Employers whose workers are exposed to fall hazards are responsible for ensuring not only that those workers have appropriate fall protection, but also that they’re trained on how to use it. Here, fall protection industry insiders describe what’s new in the field and why it’s important to remember that fall protection can be more intricate than meets the eye.

Talk to people within the fall protection industry, and you will encounter a common mantra: fall-related worker deaths are preventable. And yet, according to preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, falls to a lower level resulted in 574 work-related fatalities in 2013. If these deaths were preventable, where is the disconnect?