11 Aug JSA – Fall Protection / Working At Heights

Job / Task

Work performed at elevated locations where employees may be exposed to falls, including work from roofs, elevated platforms, scaffolds, ladders, aerial lifts, leading edges, floor openings, excavations, and other elevated work areas.

Purpose

This Job Safety Analysis (JSA), also known as a Job Hazard Analysis (JHA), identifies hazards associated with working at heights and establishes safe work practices and controls to prevent falls, falling objects, struck-by incidents, and other injuries.

Personnel Qualifications

Employees who perform work where fall hazards may exist shall be trained to recognize fall hazards and understand the proper selection, inspection, use, limitations, storage, and care of fall protection systems.

Employees shall:

• Understand the fall hazards associated with their assigned work.
• Use required fall protection systems and equipment correctly.
• Inspect fall protection equipment before each use and after events that could affect its integrity.
• Follow established work procedures and manufacturer instructions.
• Maintain safe access and egress to elevated work areas.
• Report damaged or defective equipment, unsafe conditions, incidents, and near misses to supervision.
• Never bypass, disable, or modify fall protection systems without authorization.

 

Required PPE and Fall Protection Equipment

PPE and fall protection equipment shall be selected based on the hazards, work activity, and applicable requirements and may include:

• Safety glasses with side protection.
• Safety footwear with slip-resistant soles.
• Hard hat with chin strap where appropriate for the work environment.
• High-visibility apparel where required.
• Full-body harness.
• Shock-absorbing lanyard or self-retracting lifeline, as appropriate.
• Anchorage connectors and approved anchorage points.
• Guardrail systems.
• Safety nets where appropriate.
• Positioning or travel-restraint systems when applicable.
• Rescue equipment appropriate to the fall protection system.

Fall protection equipment shall be compatible, properly fitted, maintained, and used in accordance with manufacturer instructions and applicable requirements.

JSA – Job Steps, Hazards, and Controls

Step 1 – Identify Fall Hazards Before Work Begins

Potential Hazards

• Unprotected edges or sides.
• Floor, roof, or wall openings.
• Leading edges.
• Elevated platforms or work surfaces.
• Scaffolds
• Ladders
• Aerial lifts.
• Excavations or other lower levels.
• Fragile or deteriorated surfaces.
• Changes in elevation.
• Falling objects affecting employees below.

Required Controls

• Conduct a jobsite assessment before beginning work.
• Identify all locations where a fall could occur.
• Determine the appropriate means of fall protection for each task.
• Consider the height, duration, frequency, and nature of the work.
• Identify areas where employees or equipment may be exposed to falling objects.
• Document or communicate identified hazards through the applicable JSA, JHA, pre-task plan, or other site process.
• Correct or control hazards before work begins whenever practicable.

Step 2 – Select the Appropriate Fall Protection System

Potential Hazards

• Inadequate or incompatible protection.
• Improper equipment selection.
• Insufficient clearance for a fall arrest system.
• Failure of anchorage or attachment points.
• Employees relying on equipment beyond its intended use.

Required Controls

• Use the most effective feasible fall protection method appropriate for the task.
• Prioritize elimination of the fall hazard and passive protection such as guardrails when practicable.
• Use travel restraint or positioning systems where appropriate.
• Use personal fall arrest systems when required and appropriate.
• Verify that anchorage points and connectors are suitable for the system being used.
• Consider fall clearance, swing-fall hazards, rescue requirements, and the total system configuration before use.
• Do not connect incompatible components or use equipment outside manufacturer limitations.

Step 3 – Inspect Fall Protection Equipment

Potential Hazards

• Damaged harnesses, lanyards, lifelines, or connectors.
• Cuts, burns, fraying, chemical damage, or excessive wear.
• Damaged stitching or hardware.
• Deployed shock absorbers.
• Corrosion or deformation.
• Equipment with unknown history or that has experienced a fall.

Required Controls

• Inspect equipment before each use and as required by the manufacturer and company procedures.
• Check webbing, stitching, buckles, D-rings, snap hooks, connectors, lifelines, shock absorbers, and labels.
• Remove defective or questionable equipment from service immediately.
• Do not use equipment that has arrested a fall until it has been evaluated and released for service by the appropriate qualified person or manufacturer, as applicable.
• Store equipment to prevent damage from sunlight, chemicals, moisture, heat, sharp edges, and other hazards.
• Maintain inspection and replacement records when required.

Step 4 – Establish Safe Access and Work Areas

Potential Hazards

• Falls while climbing or transitioning.
• Slips and trips.
• Unprotected access points.
• Poor housekeeping.
• Obstructed walkways.
• Unauthorized access to elevated areas.

Required Controls

• Provide safe access and egress to elevated work areas.
• Keep access routes clear and adequately illuminated.
• Use ladders, stairs, scaffolds, aerial lifts, or other access equipment appropriate for the task.
• Protect access points and openings.
• Maintain good housekeeping around elevated work areas.
• Restrict access to areas where fall hazards exist.
• Do not climb on materials, equipment, or improvised surfaces to gain additional height.

Step 5 – Set Up Guardrails and Other Passive Protection

Potential Hazards

• Falls over unprotected edges.
• Guardrail failure or displacement.
• Openings not adequately protected.
• Objects falling through or over the system.

Required Controls

• Install guardrails or other approved passive fall protection where appropriate.
• Ensure systems are properly installed, secured, and maintained.
• Do not remove, modify, or bypass guardrails without authorization and an alternative protection plan.
• Protect floor holes, roof openings, and other openings with covers, guardrails, or other approved controls.
• Keep materials and equipment away from edges where they could fall.
• Inspect protection systems after relocation, alteration, damage, or other events that could affect their integrity.

Step 6 – Don and Connect Personal Fall Protection

Potential Hazards

• Incorrect harness fit.
• Improper connection.
• Connection to an inadequate anchorage.
• Free fall or swing fall.
• Insufficient fall clearance.
• Equipment incompatibility.

Required Controls

• Inspect the system before use.
• Put on the full-body harness according to manufacturer instructions and adjust it for a proper fit.
• Connect only to approved attachment points.
• Use compatible connectors and equipment.
• Verify that the anchorage is appropriate for the intended system.
• Maintain the shortest practical fall distance consistent with the work.
• Consider swing-fall hazards and obstructions below or beside the work area.
• Keep connectors closed and locked when required by their design.
• Do not connect to guardrails, piping, scaffolding components, or other structures unless specifically designed and approved as an anchorage.

Step 7 – Perform Work at Height

Potential Hazards

• Falls
• Swing falls.
• Slips and trips.
• Dropped tools and materials.
• Overreaching
• Loss of balance.
• Changing work conditions.

Required Controls

• Remain within the protected work area whenever possible.
• Maintain proper connection to the fall protection system as required by the work activity.
• Keep work surfaces clean and free of unnecessary materials.
• Position tools and materials to minimize reaching and awkward movements.
• Use tool lanyards or other controls where falling objects could endanger employees below.
• Do not climb or work outside the protection provided by the system.
• Reassess fall protection when the task, location, equipment, or conditions change.
• Maintain communication with employees working nearby or below.

Step 8 – Work Near Leading Edges, Roofs, and Openings

Potential Hazards

• Falls from leading edges.
• Falls through openings.
• Unprotected roof edges.
• Fragile surfaces.
• Weather-related loss of footing.
• Falling materials.

Required Controls

• Identify and protect all edges and openings before work begins.
• Use guardrails, covers, personal fall protection, or other appropriate controls.
• Treat surfaces that may be fragile or unable to support employees as fall hazards until evaluated and controlled.
• Secure or protect covers over openings so they cannot be displaced.
• Keep employees away from unprotected edges unless the required fall protection system is in place.
• Consider wind, rain, ice, heat, and other weather conditions that could increase fall risk.
• Control materials and tools near edges to prevent falling objects.

Use Ladders, Scaffolds, and Aerial Lifts at Height

Potential Hazards

• Falls from ladders.
• Falls from scaffolds.
• Falls from aerial lifts.
• Improper access or positioning.
• Equipment instability.
• Failure to use required protection.

Required Controls

• Use access equipment according to its applicable safe-use procedures.
• Inspect equipment before use.
• Use required guardrails, gates, harnesses, lanyards, or other protection based on the equipment and task.
• Do not climb or stand on prohibited surfaces or components.
• Do not move equipment while employees are positioned where movement creates a fall hazard.
• Maintain required clearances from electrical hazards and other obstructions.
• Do not use damaged or defective equipment.

Step 10 – Control Falling Objects

Potential Hazards

• Tools or materials falling onto employees below.
• Materials displaced by wind or vibration.
• Objects falling from platforms or elevated surfaces.
• Struck-by injuries.

Required Controls

• Establish exclusion zones below elevated work when necessary.
• Use toe boards, screens, barricades, canopies, debris nets, tool lanyards, or other controls as appropriate.
• Secure tools, materials, and equipment against displacement.
• Do not throw materials from elevated areas.
• Keep unnecessary materials away from edges.
• Communicate with employees below before moving or lowering materials.
• Wear required head protection.

Respond to Weather and Changing Conditions

Potential Hazards

• Wet or icy surfaces.
• High winds.
• Lightning or severe weather.
• Reduced visibility.
• Heat or cold-related fatigue.
• Changing site conditions.

Required Controls

• Monitor weather and site conditions before and during elevated work.
• Suspend work when weather or environmental conditions create an unsafe fall hazard.
• Remove water, ice, mud, or other slip hazards when practicable.
• Secure materials and equipment against wind.
• Reassess fall protection when conditions change.
• Resume work only after the area has been evaluated and controls are restored.

Step 12 – Fall Arrest, Rescue, and Emergency Response

Potential Hazards

• Suspension trauma or other injury after a fall.
• Delayed rescue.
• Additional falls during rescue.
• Contact with electrical or other hazards.
• Uncontrolled work area.

Required Controls

• Have a rescue plan appropriate to the fall protection system and work location before work begins where personal fall arrest systems are used.
• Ensure employees know how to summon emergency assistance.
• Do not expose rescuers to an uncontrolled fall hazard.
• Isolate the area and keep unauthorized personnel away.
• Provide prompt rescue following a fall when safe and practicable.
• Do not rely solely on emergency services if the worksite requires a site-specific rescue capability.
• Remove fall arrest equipment involved in a fall from service until properly evaluated.
• Report and investigate the incident according to company procedures.

Prohibited Practices

• Work at an unprotected elevation when required fall protection has not been provided or implemented.
• Use damaged, defective, contaminated, or expired fall protection equipment.
• Use equipment that has arrested a fall without required evaluation and release for service.
• Connect to an anchorage that has not been approved or determined suitable for the intended use.
• Modify, disable, bypass, or remove fall protection systems without authorization and an approved alternative.
• Use incompatible fall protection components.
• Overreach from protected work areas.
• Climb on guardrails, materials, equipment, or other improvised surfaces.
• Throw tools or materials from elevated work areas.
• Leave floor openings, roof openings, or other fall hazards unprotected.
• Work at height when weather or site conditions make the activity unsafe.
• Allow unauthorized personnel into fall hazard or drop zones.

Emergency Procedures

In the event of a fall, fall arrest, equipment failure, or other emergency:

• Stop work when it is safe to do so.
• Warn employees in the immediate area.
• Call for emergency assistance or activate the site emergency response process.
• Do not enter an unprotected fall hazard area to perform a rescue.
• Secure or barricade the area below and around the incident.
• Perform rescue using the established rescue plan and appropriate equipment.
• Provide first aid or medical assistance as appropriate.
• Remove fall protection equipment involved in a fall from service.
• Report the incident or near miss in accordance with company procedures.
• Do not resume work until the cause has been evaluated and corrective actions have been implemented.

Training Requirements

Employees exposed to fall hazards shall receive training appropriate to the work they perform and the fall protection systems they use.

Training shall address:

• Recognition of fall hazards.
• Applicable fall protection methods and systems.
• Proper selection, use, inspection, and limitations of equipment.
• Proper donning and adjustment of full-body harnesses.
• Anchorage and connector requirements.
• Fall clearance and swing-fall hazards.
• Protection from falling objects.
• Safe access and work practices at elevated locations.
• Equipment-specific requirements for ladders, scaffolds, aerial lifts, and other access systems.
• Emergency and rescue procedures.
• Inspection, storage, and care of fall protection equipment.
• Recognition of unsafe conditions and requirements for stopping work.

Retraining shall be provided when an employee demonstrates unsafe practices, workplace conditions or equipment change, new fall protection systems are introduced, or an incident or near miss indicates that additional training is necessary.

JSA Review

This JSA shall be reviewed with affected employees before work begins.

The JSA shall be revised or supplemented when:

• The work activity or location changes.
• A different fall protection system or access method is used.
• Site conditions change.
• New fall hazards are identified.
• An incident, fall, or near miss occurs.
• Existing controls are determined to be ineffective.
• Employees identify additional hazards.
• Weather or environmental conditions materially change the risk.

Employee Acknowledgment

By signing below, employees acknowledge that they have reviewed this JSA/JHA, understand the hazards and required controls, and have been provided an opportunity to ask questions.

Employee NameSignatureDate

 

JSA Reviewed / Revised ByDate

Supervisor	Date