Fall Protection Friday: Struck-By and Elevated Work - Avoiding Collisions at All Levels

This Weeks Toolbox Talk Attached Below!

Welcome back, let's Build Smart & Build Safe! This week, we've focused on various "struck-by" hazards. Today, on Fall Protection Friday, we're combining two major risks: being struck by an object or equipment while working at height, and the danger of a falling worker becoming a falling object themselves.

Falls are the leading cause of fatalities, and being struck-by is right behind them. When these two hazards combine, the risk escalates dramatically, posing threats to both elevated workers and those on the ground.

1. The Falling Worker as a Falling Object:

• Dual Hazard: If a worker falls from height (from a roof, scaffold, or ladder), they not only face the severe injury from their own fall but also become a dangerous falling object to anyone working below.

• Prevention: The primary prevention for this is effective fall protection for the elevated worker. A properly used PFAS prevents the fall, thus eliminating the secondary "struck-by" hazard for others.

2. Equipment Striking Elevated Workers or Platforms:

• Ground-Level Threat to Height: Heavy equipment (like excavators, forklifts, telehandlers with extended booms) operating at ground level can strike scaffolds, elevated work platforms, or even workers directly, causing devastating impacts and falls.

• Overhead Utilities: When operating MEWPs (Mobile Elevated Work Platforms) or scaffolds near power lines, contact with the lines is a severe "struck-by" and electrocution hazard, often leading to a fall.

• Prevention:

  • Clearance Zones: Maintain strict exclusion zones around elevated work areas where ground-level equipment is operating.

  • Spotters/Lookouts: Use spotters when equipment must operate near elevated workers or structures.

  • Utility Locating: Always identify and de-energize (or maintain safe distances from) overhead power lines.

3. Maintaining Safe Distances at All Levels:

• Horizontal & Vertical Separation: Ensure adequate horizontal clearance from adjacent equipment and vertical clearance from overhead hazards (like power lines or structural elements).

• Integrated Planning: Safety planning must consider how work at different elevations interacts and create clear procedures to prevent collisions from above or below.

Understanding how "struck-by" and "fall" hazards intertwine is key to comprehensive safety planning. Protecting yourself and others means being aware of dangers from all directions.

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-The Safety Man