Insider wanted to provide some feedback from a recent OAAA Webinar on the coming new OSHA Climber Safety Rules. The focus was on a series of questions posed by the OAAA to the Department of Labor and the response received in July of this year.
The Webinar had a very experienced panel which included:
- Chuck Wigger, Corporate Safety Director, Lamar Advertising
- Jim Poage, Director of Safety, Formetco, Inc.
- Chris Zukin, President, Meado Outdoor
Here is a summary of the questions posed and the responses from OSHA.
Question 1: Would tying off to a “True Anchorage” satisfy the requirement for a “Fall Protection System” in lieu of a vertical lifeline?
OSHA response: Yes, if employees maintain 100% fall protection while climbing, there should be no OSHA citation.
Question 2: How do you measure 24 feet? Is it the length of ladder or is the measurement done from ground level?
OSHA response: From ground level or grade to 24 feet.
Question 3: What about fixed ladders that are on platforms beginning at 20 feet or higher above ground. Would the measurement be done from the ground or the platform?
OSHA response: The question will be open to some interpretation by field officers. But, the guidance memorandum states that there must be a sufficient landing space where the ladder begins; if the ladders were on the end of the billboard and the employees were able to fall all the way to the ground, then fall protection is required.
Question 4: Will OSHA require any medical evaluations for classifying the physical capability of employees?
OSHA response: No. The final rule gives employers the option to evaluate a worker’s physical capability to climb a fixed ladder.
To see all the detail from the letter you can go to this link.
So what does this mean to us as owner/operators. The panel provided some terrific practial input and the following slide outlines their suggestions.
Another reminder from the panel was to know whether you are covered by a State or Federal OSHA plan. There are a number of states that incorporate and use the Federal plan, but there are states that use their own. It will be important to know, so make sure you do some investigation for each state that you have structures.
Thanks to the OAAA and the great work they have done in getting interpretations from OSHA on how they plan on responding to the new regulations.
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