OSHA Plans to Update Fall Protection Regulations

OSHA released proposed changes to the 29 CFR 1910 general industry fall protection regulations in May 2010, to become more relevant for today’s industry practices. This would be the first update since they were originally released in 1971.

Fall protection is a key area for OSHA because it is regularly a violation. OSHA will be working with a variety of industry representatives to edit their proposed rule changes. They hope the updates will become laws in the future. If fall protection programs are your responsibility, it is important to read and understand the proposed regulatory text (pages 29131-29153) and understand how they will affect you.

The goal of the proposed changes is to increase worker safety and standardize rules throughout industries.

Some of the proposed changes include:

• Simplifying fall hazard programs for organizations that must comply with a combination of general, construction, and shipbuilding industry regulations.
• Accounting for innovation and potential new technologies to allow the regulations to be relevant longer.
• Requiring employers to identify all fall hazards related to work tasks and locations that put workers at risk for a fall.

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