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Floor and Wall Openings: OSHA's Subpart M' Fall Protection

The document discusses OSHA regulations regarding fall protection from floor and wall openings. It defines key terms like body harness, hole, lanyard, and opening. For floor and wall openings, OSHA requires a guardrail system with a top rail at 42 inches and mid rail at 21 inches. Walkways over trenches or shafts also require guardrails. Access points like trailer entrances that are over 30 inches high need steps and guardrails on both sides. Doors that open outward require a platform extending at least 18 inches beyond the door swing. Following all safety guidelines is important for worker protection.

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73 views

Floor and Wall Openings: OSHA's Subpart M' Fall Protection

The document discusses OSHA regulations regarding fall protection from floor and wall openings. It defines key terms like body harness, hole, lanyard, and opening. For floor and wall openings, OSHA requires a guardrail system with a top rail at 42 inches and mid rail at 21 inches. Walkways over trenches or shafts also require guardrails. Access points like trailer entrances that are over 30 inches high need steps and guardrails on both sides. Doors that open outward require a platform extending at least 18 inches beyond the door swing. Following all safety guidelines is important for worker protection.

Uploaded by

Aldrin
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Floor and Wall Openings

To fully understand what type of hazards exist on most construction sites,


you need a good handle on OSHAs 1926 Standards for the Construction
Industry. One very important Standard addresses Fall Protection, and
provides hundreds of safety tips to safeguard you. Avoid those falls!

OSHAs Subpart M Fall Protection


OSHAs Fall Protection Standard (1926 Construction Standards....Subpart M) deals
with the various fall protection systems that are available to all workers on a jobsite.

This Fall Protection Standard also addresses the parts of a total fall protection standard (i.e.,
ladders, lanyards, safety harnesses, lifelines, perimeter guarding, toe boards, walkways, railings, floor and wall
openings, etc.).

Definitions to know from Subpart M:

Body Harness--Means straps which may be secured about the employee in a manner that will
distribute the fall arrest forces over at least the thighs, pelvis, waist, chest and shoulders with means
for attaching it to other components of a personal fall arrest system.

Controlled Access Zone--Means an area in which certain work may take place without the use of
guardrail systems....and access to the zone is controlled/restricted.

Hole--Means a gap or void of 2 inches or more in the floor, roof, or other walking/working surface.

Lanyard--Means a flexible line or rope, wire rope, or strap which generally has a connector at each
end for connecting the body harness to the deceleration device, lifeline or anchorage.

Leading Edge--Means the edge of a floor, roof, or other walking/working surface.

Opening--Means a gap or void 30 inches or more high, and 18 inches or more wide, through which
employees can fall to a lower level.

Warning Line System--Means a barrier erected on a roof to warn employees that they are
approaching an unprotected roof side or edge.

Wall & Floor Openings


A vital part of any Safety Talk on fall protection involves the correct way to protect a worker from
dangers associated with unguarded floor and wall openings.

1
The standard guardrail system required by OSHA involves a two-rail system, installed in a horizontal
manner. The top-rail is installed over the wall or floor opening at a 42-inch height, and the mid-rail
is installed at the 21-inch level. And maybe a toe board system as well.

If youre building a walkway over a trench line, or possibly over an unguarded shaft, pit, tunnel, vault,
manhole or other type of opening, OSHA also requires you to construct a guardrail system, using the same
measurements as that shown in the above paragraph (one horizontal rail at the 42-inch level, and the other
at the 21-inch level).

What about your jobsite trailer, or storage shed? Is the rise to the trailer entrance 30-inches or more? If so,
you must build a set of steps, and place a guardrail system (top-rail and mid-rail) on both sides of the steps.

If the trailer or storage shed opens outward, then you must also build a platform that measures the radius
of the swing of the door, plus an additional 18 inches. Thus, with a three-foot wide door, the platform
would measure a minimum of 54-inches wide and deep.

Safety guidelines on your jobsites are for your protection. Rigidly follow each and every one of them, and youll
have a safe day every day, on construction sites. Take good care of yourself.

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