Effective June 16, 2011,
Minnesota OSHA (MNOSHA) no longer accepts the Interim Fall Protection Compliance Guidelines for
Residential Construction and will enforce
29 CFR 1926.501(b)(13). Employers are no longer able to use the alternative
fall-protection measures found in the rescinded 1999 Interim Fall Protection Compliance Guidelines for Residential Construction.
The guidelines were rescinded for the following reasons.
According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data (BLS), fatalities from falls are the leading cause of workplace deaths in construction.
| Table 1. Leading causes of construction fatalities -- U.S. BLS | |||||
| Fatalities | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
| Falls | 394 | 433 | 447 | 332 | 277 |
| Struck by | 130 | 120 | 106 | 108 | 79 |
| Electrocutions | 107 | 126 | 108 | 89 | 88 |
| Caught in/between | 111 | 96 | 98 | 92 | 34 |
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| Table 2. Fatalities from falls in residential construction -- U.S. BLS | |||||
| Fatalities | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
| Total falls | 71 | 62 | 55 | 40 | 42 |
| Falls from roofs | 24 | 21 | 19 | 11 | 17 |
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Effective June 16, 2011, employers must follow 29 CFR 1926.501(b)(13), which states each employee engaged in residential construction activities six feet (1.8 m) or more above lower levels shall be protected by a guardrail system, safety net system or personal fall-arrest system unless another provision in paragraph (b) of this section provides for an alternate fall-protection measure.
For further information contact Minnesota OSHA at osha.compliance@state.mn.us, (651) 284-5050 or 1-877-470-6742.
View Minnesota OSHA's presentation --
Residential fall
protection
Federal OSHA requirements --
Residential fall protection (Note: Change becomes effective in
Minnesota on June 16, 2011.)