{"id":217,"date":"2020-05-13T09:46:49","date_gmt":"2020-05-13T09:46:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/preventdrops.com\/devnew\/?p=217"},"modified":"2022-12-21T09:16:32","modified_gmt":"2022-12-21T09:16:32","slug":"the-sky-isnt-falling-and-your-tools-shouldnt-either","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/preventdrops.com\/devnew\/the-sky-isnt-falling-and-your-tools-shouldnt-either\/","title":{"rendered":"The Sky Isn&#8217;t Falling (And Your Tools Shouldn&#8217;t Either)"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"217\" class=\"elementor elementor-217\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-60c23efa elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"60c23efa\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-1ef10afe\" data-id=\"1ef10afe\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-66844a49 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"66844a49\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.9.1 - 14-12-2022 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#818a91;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#818a91;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<!-- wp:heading {\"level\":1} --><!-- \/wp:heading --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>For all objects at height \u2013 including humans \u2013 the focus always should be on preventing things from falling rather than on catching objects, or on limiting the damage after they fall.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Dropped objects have been a problem for as long as the force of gravity has existed, and have been written about for at least a century. In fact, the New York Times published an article in 1903 about dropped objects in which it said: &#8220;Dozens of placards posted at various places on the bridge caution the iron workers to use great care in the handling of tools, to avoid dropping them into the river.&#8221;\u00a0<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Yet here we are today, having the exact same conversation. And, with the number of things we&#8217;re dropping, it&#8217;s amazing more people are not getting hurt. There are more than 50,000 &#8220;struck by falling object&#8221; OSHA recordables every year in the United States, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That&#8217;s one injury caused by a dropped object every 10 minutes.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Despite OSHA statistics \u2013 and the fact that many of these violations could have been prevented with the proper safety equipment \u2013 many contractors do not take the necessary precautions to prevent fall-related injuries by providing workers with personal fall protection systems for both the workers and their tools.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Are all accidents preventable? Fewer than 25 percent of construction workers think they are. While that&#8217;s debatable, what&#8217;s clear is that workers often see themselves as the victims of accidents, not as the cause of them.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>To determine what kind of force an object falling from a certain height generates, calculations can be done around the physics of gravity. For example, an eight-pound wrench dropped 200 feet would hit with a force of 2,833 pounds per square inch \u2013 the equivalent of a small car hitting a one-square-inch area.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<h2><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Changing Our Perspective about Dropped Objects<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>\u00a0In the United States, we expect workers at height to wear a fall protection harness and be tied off. Why? Because we&#8217;re trying to prevent people from falling. But we&#8217;ve done nothing to prevent tools from falling because there is an expectation that objects will fall.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>\u00a0Too frequently, we rely on debris nets, toe boards and personal protective equipment (PPE) to catch the falling objects or limit the damage they do. But what we really need to do is stop things from falling in the same way we have worked diligently towards preventing people from falling.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>\u00a0There are more than 52,260 recorded incidents of people being struck by falling objects in the last recording period, according to OSHA. This number likely is much lower than the actual number, of course, but this would mean that, on average, nearly 143 objects strike people every day \u2013 including Saturdays and Sundays \u2013 in the United States alone.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>\u00a0As we know, people are not designed to work at height. They don&#8217;t have a natural &#8220;connection point&#8221; to tie off to. That&#8217;s why they wear a fall protection harness: to provide that connection point. Tools are not designed for use at height either. That&#8217;s why we also need to provide a fall protection harness and connection point for tools \u2013 so they easily can be tied off.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>A harness for a person acts as the primary component of a personal fall protection system. However, for tools, we typically rely on secondary, passive systems, such as debris nets. We rarely deploy a primary system for tools and equipment.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>\u00a0Most organizations have deployed a fall protection program for workers but have not deployed a drop prevention program for tools and equipment. Expanding a fall protection program to include tools and equipment is far easier for companies and employees than creating a new program for drop prevention.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>\u00a0The difference between a fall protection program for humans and fall protection program for tools is only a matter of perspective: The first saves you; the second saves others.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>No worker wants to fall to his death. But no one wants to be the worker in Jersey City who dropped the tape measure and killed a man either. And no crew or company wants to be associated with an incident like that, which was all over the news.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>\u00a0While the most obvious person at risk when objects are dropped is the one underneath, the worker using the tool also can be at risk, as his knee-jerk reaction may be to catch or go after the falling object, which could cause him to lose his balance and fall.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>\u00a0The third largest cause of death in the workplace, behind transportation incidents and workplace violence, is contact with objects and equipment, the majority of which are being struck by a falling object.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>\u00a0The fourth leading cause of death in the workplace is falls. Falls were the third largest cause of death, but the increased use of fall protection equipment by workers has lowered the death rate from falls.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>\u00a0OSHA requires that if you work in an environment in which you&#8217;re at risk of being hit by something that falls, you must:<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Secure tools and materials to prevent them from falling on people below.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Barricade hazard areas and post warning signs.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Use toe boards, screens on guardrails or scaffolds to prevent falling objects.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Use debris nets, catch platforms or canopies to catch or deflect falling objects.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>\u00a0OSHA can use the General Duty clause to cite companies when dropped objects have caused injuries or are a hazard, but OSHA rarely cites a company for dropped objects under the General Duty clause. The clause says there must be a hazard; the hazard must be recognized; the hazard causes or is likely to cause injury or death; and the hazard must be correctable.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>\u00a0However, if no one is cited for it, then there is no incentive for companies to follow it.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Here is an incentive: Within the next five to 10 years, OSHA likely will mandate that all tools must be tied off. In the meantime, it&#8217;s up to companies and workers to do the right thing.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>\u00a0One company recently called me in to help with dropped objects because workers had dropped a pair of pliers and a spud wrench. When I arrived and explained the reason for my visit, one executive commented, &#8220;Just those two? We&#8217;ve had over 90 drops in the last 90 days.\u201d<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>\u00a0With those kinds of numbers, it really is incredible that falling objects aren&#8217;t causing more injuries than they already are.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Too often, companies only invest in safety after a tragic event occurs. Although most companies now recognize the hazards of working at height, the next step is for them to realize that fall protection \u2013 for people and tools and equipment \u2013 must be addressed before an incident, not after, to help improve the personal safety of workers while working at height.<br \/>Source: EHS Today<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For all objects at height \u2013 including humans \u2013 the focus always should be on preventing things from falling rather than on catching objects, or on limiting the damage after they fall. Dropped objects have been a problem for as long as the force of gravity has existed, and have been written about for at [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":962,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[32],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/preventdrops.com\/devnew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/preventdrops.com\/devnew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/preventdrops.com\/devnew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/preventdrops.com\/devnew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/preventdrops.com\/devnew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=217"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/preventdrops.com\/devnew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2888,"href":"https:\/\/preventdrops.com\/devnew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217\/revisions\/2888"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/preventdrops.com\/devnew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/962"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/preventdrops.com\/devnew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/preventdrops.com\/devnew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/preventdrops.com\/devnew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}