 Falls are a serious safety concern on the job site and in fact falls are the leading cause of worker deaths and construction. Each year over 350 workers are killed and more than 100,000 are injured as a result of falls on construction sites. Oh sure, safety is extremely important. Whether you're the owner of the company or an employee, the cost of accidents affects you. My workers' compensation premiums have more than quadrupled to over a million dollars a year. These costs are hurting my ability to stay in business. That affects all my employees, their families and me. Check this out, an employee of my company recently twisted his knee while on the job. He was exiting a building and there was a change in elevation that exceeded 19 inches. His crew had failed to install a ramp to access the building. He stepped down, his knee twisted and boom, he's out of work for six months. This guy's injury resulted in $50,000 in workers' compensation and hospital costs. And building an access ramp would have cost probably less than a hundred bucks. I'd much rather spend the 50,000 on additional man hours than spending it on insurance, attorneys and medical costs. I'll tell ya, spending 50,000 in this unnecessary injury reduces my ability to be competitive, which can mean someone's job. These types of accidents often involve a number of factors, including unstable working surfaces, misuse of fall protection equipment and human error. And that's why it's important that employer and employee have a basic safety blueprint to follow. This blueprint for safety should include a good working environment and a commitment to safety. When you show up for the job, your first priority as a business owner should be safety. Safety, quality and production need to be equally emphasized, not speed. Enforcement of safety rules is vital. Each day, everyone needs to come to work, fully rested and ready to work. Many accidents are the result of a lapse in concentration, such as, I never expected that to happen, and I didn't think. Everyone from management and foreman to crew leaders, carpenters and apprentices need to be held accountable for safety. With this blueprint for safety, many injuries and accidents can be avoided. But when it comes to falls, extra effort needs to be added to help prevent death and injury from falls. Let's take a look at some of these systems and how you can add these extra safety measures into your blueprint for safety. The most common forms used in residential construction are control access zones, safety monitors, guardrails, hole covers, slide guards and fall arrest systems. This video will address the first five protective systems. To learn about fall arrest systems, refer to the workbook that accompanies this video. First, a controlled access zone. A controlled access zone is a work area designed and clearly marked for specific types of work. These zones keep out workers other than those authorized to enter work areas where conventional fall protection, such as guardrails, are not feasible. The workers in the zone need to be trained on the OSHA regulations, fall hazards and alternative fall protection methods used on this job site. All others are prohibited from entering a controlled access zone. Controlled access zones are marked by a posted sign or by any other means that restrict access. Next, a safety monitor will work in the area to warn employees of fall hazards. The safety monitor must be competent in the recognition of fall hazards. Be capable of warning workers of fall hazard dangers and in detecting unsafe work practices. Be able to see the workers. Be close enough to work operations to communicate orally with workers. Guardrail systems. Guardrail systems are protective railings consisting of top rails and mid rails. The top edge of the guardrail must be between 39 and 45 inches above the surface. Mid rails must be installed midway between the top edge of the guardrail system and the working level. Guardrails must be able to hold 200 pounds. Typically, wood 2x4s are used with 8 foot supports. Covers provide fall protection as well as protection from falling materials. They are used to cover the opening in floors, roofs and other holes 2 inches square or greater. Now let's take a look at a residential construction site. We'll go from completed foundation through sheeting the roof and address how to apply fall protection to each. Framing is the second phase of the residential construction building process. And begins after the foundation work is done. This is where we're going to begin our discussion on fall hazards because we need to start thinking about fall hazards at ground level. When possible, you need to backfill footings and other excavations before framing begins. This backfilling can reduce fall distances. But you need to keep in mind that backfilled surfaces may be unstable and may not support ladders and scaffolds when the need arises. When installing the first floor deck over the foundation walls, workers will usually be walking along the foundation walls to set the joists, exposing them to an 8 foot fall hazard. In this case, wearing a personal fall arrest system or installing guardrails is impractical. But there are alternatives. First, a controlled access zone. This controlled access zone will reduce the number of workers in the area. It will also prevent someone working in the basement from being struck by falling material. Second, a safety monitor will work in the area to warn employees of fall hazards. After the joists are set in place, the first floor will be decked. This involves laying sheeting over the joists and nailing it into place. After the first row of sheeting has been installed, workers will work from the established deck. The controlled access zone is still in place to reduce fall hazards. A crew foreman is required to monitor this work and warn anyone who approaches the unprotected edge. If you're going to cut the stair opening, it is safer to do this after the deck is sheeted. This will reduce the chance of falling through the opening while you are decking the floor. OSHA has investigated a lot of accidents where workers have walked into floor holes while erecting the walls. If there are floor holes in the decking, make sure they are protected with a floor hole cover that is secured and marked or guardrails. Covers must be able to support at least twice the maximum intended load. Mark the cover with the word hole or cover and secure it to prevent accidental displacement. Next, ramps to the first floor should be installed to provide a safer access when entering the building. Where building access points exceed 19 inches, ramps must be provided. Cleated ramps should be used to reduce slipping during access to the building. Once the first floor has been decked, the walls are laid out and framed. Workers constructing exterior walls must complete as much cutting of materials and other preparatory work as far as possible away from the edge of the deck. If exterior walls have rough openings with a sill height less than 39 inches, you need to install standard guardrails. Top rails across window openings should be 39 to 45 inches high. Doorway openings where the fall is more than six feet must have a top rail and mid rail installed. After the first floor is decked and the walls erected, work will begin on the second floor of the house. Second floor joists are placed and nailed to the rim joist after the first floor walls are framed. Joists are installed by one of two methods. The first method is by ladder. If using a ladder, you risk falling if the ladder is not safely positioned. Factors that contribute to falls from ladders are ladder slip at the top or bottom, overreaching, slipping on rungs or steps, defective equipment, and using the wrong ladder for a given task. Joists may also be installed by standing securely on the top plates lifting one joist at a time and laying the joist in place. After the first few joists are laid flat, the worker uses the top plate and joist to stand on while lifting the remaining joists into place. Be sure to install guard rails or covers around stairwells, fireplace openings, window wells, and any other unprotected floor openings when you frame upper floors. Once the walls are framed, work begins on the third phase of residential construction, framing the roof. The first step in framing the roof will be to install the trusses. The pre-manufactured trusses are installed by lifting them by crane onto the roof. The first two trusses may be set from ladders. A worker will climb onto the interior top plate via a ladder to secure the trusses. Workers will remain on the top plate using the previously stabilized truss as a support while other trusses are being erected. All trusses must be adequately braced before any worker can use the truss as a support. During the erection and bracing of roof trusses, conventional fall protection may present a greater hazard to workers. That is why a safety monitor will be present to alert the workers to any unsafe conditions. These may include protruding nails from the truss plate or other tripping hazards. Only workers trained in proper bracing techniques are allowed to work on the top plate during roof truss or raptor installation. These workers should have no other duties to perform during truss erection procedures. Once truss installation begins, workers not involved in that activity must not stand or walk below or adjacent to the roof opening or exterior walls in any area where they could be struck by falling objects. A controlled access zone must be in place under and around truss placement. Other safety hazards must be considered to protect the workers from falling. During all stages of truss erection, the stability of the trusses and raptors must be ensured at all times. All trusses are unstable until properly braced. The longer the span, the more care required. Complete stability is not achieved until the bracing and decking is completely installed, properly fastened, and must be braced according to local codes and truss manufacturer's directions. Most trusses collapse because of a lack of diagonal bracing. The next step will be sheeting the roof. Working from the interior of the roof, workers will lay the first row of plywood down. After the bottom row of sheeting is installed, a slide guard of at least three and a half inches high will be securely attached to the roof. It must extend across the full width of the roof. You must make sure you have secure footing while working on the roof during sheeting operations. During wet weather, roof sheeting should be stopped unless safe footing can be assured. In high winds, truss erection and sheeting operations should be stopped. Workers will continue to sheet the roof and more slide guards will be installed depending on the slope of the roof. Only when the sheeting job is completed will the slide guards at the eve be removed. The most important part in any fall protection program is you, the worker. Know the hazards on the site and how to protect yourself. Use the fall protection systems provided by your employer and if you can't correct the problem, talk to your supervisor so safety hazards can be corrected. We have discussed what fall protection is and where fall protection is required. But your employer will provide further training to let you know the fall protection plan for your work site and the safety precautions to take. Information provided in this video was developed in a cooperative effort between the Residential Construction Employers Council, the Illinois On-Site Safety and Health Consultation Program, DCCA, and OSHA's Region 5 Area Offices. By following the work practices demonstrated in this video, along with management's commitment to assure a safe workplace, you can help eliminate accidents. This will help you and your fellow employees stay injury-free. In addition to videos like this one, we offer no-cost safety and industrial hygiene services to any requesting Illinois employer. This program is funded 90% by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, OSHA. The purpose of our program is to help make your workplace safer by identifying and offering solutions to correct hazards. For more information, call 1-800-972-4216.