Saying that many of the methods used by American industry to prevent slips, trips and falls are outmoded, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) today (May 25, 2010) is publishing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register to realign its relevant regulations.
OSHA is looking to the construction and maritime industries and their more advanced techniques to apply to the rest of American business.
The current walking-working surfaces regulations allow employers to provide outdated and dangerous fall protection equipment such as lanyards and body belts that can result in workers suffering greater injury from falls, OSHA notes.
Construction and maritime workers already receive safer, more effective fall protection from devices such as self-retracting lanyards and ladder safety and rope descent systems, which these proposed revisions would also require for general industry workers.
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