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Consider this fall scenario:
A volunteer is assisting with installing trusses when she loses her balance and falls down to the floor below. The volunteer sustains very serious injuries including multiple fractures. The volunteer is unable to work for an extended period of time and incurs substantial medical expenses, placing a financial burden on her family. The affiliate’s ability to serve partner families is also adversely affected due to the after-effects of this incident.
This fall could have been prevented!
There are a number of vital ways to effectively reduce falls from heights including:
- Fall Protection Equipment. Fall protection equipment—including safety belts, harnesses, lanyards and lifelines—must be installed and used properly in order to be effective.
- Safety Training. Any person working for your affiliate must receive proper safety training, including but not limited to how to install and use safety equipment according to the manufacturer’s guidelines. Also, don’t forget to take advantage of our free online safety training videos and courses, available via the affiliate website (www.hfhaffiliateinsurance.com).
- Competent Person Training. Affiliates should have onsite competent persons to oversee highly-hazardous operations on job sites. These designated individuals should understand OSHA’s rules that apply to each of the areas for which they are responsible.
Who is a competent person? By OSHA’s standard, a competent person is someone who is able to quickly and fully answer questions and concerns, according to OSHA standards, in the area(s) that the competent person is responsible for. If you’re affiliate is interested in attending one of these training sessions, or would like to see about setting up separate training, please contact Sarah Wishon at swishon@habitat.org for more information.