Masonry Magazine June 1995 Page. 11
OSHA'S New
Fall Protection
Standard
Compliance with OSHA's new Fall Protection Standard isn't very difficult for the mason contractor, who performs the majority of his work from scaffolding or by the overhand method from an unprotected floor edge.
By PHILIP L. COLLERAN
OSHA'S NEW FALL Protection Standard, which became effective February 6, 1995, requires fall protection for workers at six feet or more above any lower level. The final rule covers all construction workers except those erecting structural steel. Previous OSHA regulations fell short of addressing many operations in which guardrails, safety harnessing equipment or nets aren't feasible or pose a greater hazard. For the masonry contractor, compliance with the new rule is not very difficult.
The majority of masonry construction is performed from scaffolding or by the overhand method from an unprotected floor edge.
Scaffolds
The new fall protection standard doesn't address work from scaffolding. A new scaffold safety standard is expected to be promulgated by OSHA in the near future. It's very probable that any new scaffold standard will require guardrails to be installed when the working height reaches six feet. The current standard requires platforms more than ten feet above a lower level to be guarded.
If you are working from built-up scaffolding (tubular welded frame, Morgan-type, or similar), your masons tender's platforms must currently be guarded on all open sides and ends. The bracketed portion(s) of the scaffold, where masons are building the wall is protected by the masons tender's platform on one side and the wall on the other.
If you are working from suspended staging, such as Mason's Adjustable Multiple Point Suspension scaffolding, the same guardrail requirements apply.
Overhand Bricklaying
Although working from the unprotected edge of a floor while constructing a masonry wall without fall protection is inherently dangerous, the MCAA has demonstrated to OSHA that overhand bricklaying and related work cannot be performed with guardrails in the way, and that the use of safety harnesses and nets are unfeasible.
OSHA permits overhand bricklaying to be performed without those "conventional" fall protection methods, provided a "controlled access zone" is established.
Controlled Access Zone (CAZ) means an area in which certain work (e.g., overhand bricklaying) may take place without the use of guardrail systems, personal fall arrest systems, or safety net systems and access to the zone is controlled.
In a controlled access zone, only