OSHA's fall protection rules are full of numbers that crews must know: 6 feet, 42 inches, 5,000 pounds. This quiz reviews them with the paragraph each number comes from, for toolbox talks and training sessions.
When fall protection is required
In construction, workers on a walking or working surface with an unprotected side or edge 6 feet or more above a lower level must be protected by guardrails, safety nets or personal fall arrest systems (29 CFR 1926.501(b)(1)). The same 6-foot threshold applies to holes and skylights, leading edges, residential construction and roofing work. In general industry the trigger height is 4 feet (29 CFR 1910.28(b)(1)).
Who must be trained, and when to retrain
In construction, the employer must provide a training program for each employee who might be exposed to fall hazards, given by a competent person (29 CFR 1926.503). Training covers the nature of fall hazards in the work area, the correct procedures for erecting, maintaining, disassembling and inspecting the fall protection systems used, how guardrails, nets, warning lines, safety monitoring and other systems work, and the employee's role in any fall protection plan. The employer keeps a written certification record with the employee's name, the date of training and the signature of the trainer or employer.
There is no fixed refresher interval: retraining is required when workplace changes or new types of fall protection make the previous training obsolete, or when an employee's knowledge or use of fall protection is inadequate (1926.503(c)). In general industry, training is given by a qualified person before the employee is exposed to a fall hazard (29 CFR 1910.30).
The numbers a quiz should check
- Guardrail top rail: 42 inches, plus or minus 3 inches, able to withstand 200 pounds outward or downward (1926.502(b)).
- Toeboards: at least 3½ inches high (1926.502(j)).
- Hole covers: support at least twice the load on them, secured, and color coded or marked HOLE or COVER (1926.502(i)).
- Personal fall arrest: body belts not allowed since 1998; anchorages of 5,000 pounds per employee (or designed by a qualified person); free fall of no more than 6 feet and no contact with a lower level; maximum arresting force of 1,800 pounds with a harness; inspection before each use; prompt rescue (1926.502(d)).
- Safety nets: as close as practicable under the work, never more than 30 feet below (1926.502(c)).
Using the quiz on site
Play it at a toolbox talk before work at height starts: the crew answers from their phones, and each answer shows the paragraph of Subpart M it comes from. Keep a harness at hand to show what an inspection before use looks like. Quizhat is an independent tool, not affiliated with or endorsed by OSHA.