A Safety Guide to Working at Heights

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Working at heights is a daily reality for millions of workers.

From construction and manufacturing to agriculture and
transportation, nearly every major industry suffers thousands
of falls each year.
FALLS FROM HEIGHTS BY
INDUSTRY
2 1 The tasks performed at heights may look a little different from
one job to the next, but every single fall can lead to life-altering
injuries. And it’s not only the people working at heights who
are affected. Each year dropped tools injure or kill thousands
of people.

Falls from heights are the second-biggest cause of workplace

9000+ fatalities.1 It’s time to think about falling incidents
Construction a little bit differently—and raise the bar above
compliance to keep people safe.

4000+
Manufacturing
Retail
Transportation/Warehousing
1000+
Agriculture/Forestry
Wholesale Trade
Leisure/Hospitality

1
National Safety Council Injury Facts® 2017 Edition
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THE COST OF

3
FALLING FROM Falls may not be the most common workplace incident, but
when they occur they often result in a serious injury or fatality.

HEIGHTS The hospitalization rate for falls from ladders alone is roughly
three times higher than the average injury.2

When it comes to medical compensation costs, falls are one of

the three most expensive causes of injuries.3 And that doesn’t
account for the indirect costs of lost-time, which include
reduced productivity and plummeting morale. Nearly half of
falls lead to at least a month of missed work.3 And the cost of
dropped tools and equipment can also be substantial.

This guide is about understanding and preventing

falls from heights, also known as falls to a lower level.
The term “falls” will be used to refer to these types
of incidents.

2
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), “Occupational
Ladder Fall Injuries—United States, 2011”, 2014
3
National Safety Council Injury Facts® 2017 Edition
 www.safestart.com

PLAN,
PROVIDE

4
AND The standard advice from OSHA4 on preventing falls from heights is to
plan, provide and train.

TRAIN It’s a catchy summary of the following compliance requirements:

• risk assessments and other planning activities

should occur before work begins
• from ladders to harnesses, the proper equipment must be provided
• training must be conducted on fall prevention
PLAN rules, practices and equipment

PROVIDE TRAIN THREE STEPS to Preventing Falls From Heights

It’s good practice to follow OSHA’s plan for working at heights. But
planning, providing and training is only the start—you also need to account
for a few more crucial elements.

For a more detailed look at the standard Plan, Provide and Train approach,
visit safestar t.com/plan-provide-train

4
OSHA, “Fall Prevention Campaign”, 2017
5
PLAN PROBLEMS
WITH
Before any work is done, a thorough risk assessment should
PLANNING
be conducted for each task, and decisions have to be made
regarding the right tools and the safety equipment required.
It’s important to discuss: Planning happens ahead of time—which means that
• how to remove or minimize known it happens in a bubble. Some real-time hazards only
dangers in the work environment appear when work is underway.
• how to keep work areas clean and
Unless people are trained to recognize risk fluctuations
free of trip or slip hazards
associated with changing conditions and human factors,
• how to provide rails or boards around
elevated floors and platforms a traditional risk matrix completed ahead of time can
• which PPE should be used quickly become inaccurate.
• which tools will be needed and how to It’s also easy to fall back on plans for previous jobs if
ensure their safe and proper use you always seem to need the same type of equipment,
which can cause small but important differences to
be overlooked.
In the planning phase, avoid taking shortcuts, rushing or
only considering best-case scenarios.
Ideally, everyone involved in the planning process will
have a solid understanding of how to account for human
factors that could cause issues once work begins.
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PROVIDE
Learn more about
6 influencing PPE use
in a free guide at
safestar t.com/ppe

Workers need the right equipment for the job. When working PROVIDING ISN’T

ENOUGH
at heights, this includes fall restraints and other relevant PPE,
as well as the right kinds of ladders, scaffolds and tethers.

Each worker must be provided with their own harness (in the
Having a personal fall arrest system
right size) that needs to be kept in good condition. Equipment
and using it are two different things. In
has to be in full working order and PPE should be regularly
addition to providing PPE, employers
inspected for defects and wear and tear.
need to give workers the safety
Obviously, ladders, platforms, toeboards and other structural awareness, decision-making skills and
elements must also be provided by an employer. It’s also up to habits necessary to use fall protection
supervisors to confirm that everything is set up and deployed every time their feet leave the ground.
properly.
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7
TRAIN TRAINING TROUBLE
Providing training is just as important as providing the right Training can be an amazing safety tool—when it
tools and safety equipment. Workers need to know how to set works. But all too often, employees forget or forgo
up and use their equipment and understand the importance of what they learned in training and/or trainers don’t have
doing so correctly. the knowledge, time or supporting resources to teach
workers about compromising factors like human error.
This is especially true for fall protection—employees need to
It’s not just about providing training on working
know how to adjust and secure it arrest systems, in case all
at heights, but about delivering relevant training
other precautions fail.
that sticks.
Workers also need training in hazard recognition and safe Safety personnel and trainers must rely on supervisors
practices and should be given the responsibility and the right and workers after the training has concluded to ensure
to make safety their primary concern. safe practices are communicated and followed to
avoid the dangerous intersection of the complacency
curve and forgetting curve that naturally follows
any training.
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PLAN, PROVIDE, TRAIN... AND

EXECUTE
In the past seven years, the number of non-fatal workplace falls
has remained relatively static while the number of fatalities
8
has risen.5

Clearly, the standard advice isn’t enough of a solution if so

many people are still getting hurt and killed each year.

It’s time to take the missing steps to execute a robust fall

protection strategy. The standard advice covers what should
happen. But it ignores a few crucial details, like how fall
protection happens… or doesn’t.
PLAN

FOUR
PROVIDE TRAIN THREE STEPS to Preventing Falls From Heights

EXECUTE

15
National Safety Council Injury Facts® 2017 Edition
 www.safestart.com

9
EXECUTE
Planning, providing and training all happen ahead of
time. Once someone starts working at heights, it’s up to
them to put their training and equipment to good use.

There are several factors conspiring against workers once

their feet leave the ground.

Complacency and the normalization of risk lulls

experienced workers into a false sense of comfort—and
leads them to take riskier actions.

Compounding risk makes a bad situation worse—and

often workers don’t even realize it.

Human error can strike anyone at any time—especially

as people rush or become tired.

Supervisory effectiveness can dramatically sway the

risk of working at heights—either positively or negatively.

To execute an effective falls prevention program, you

have to understand these issues and then deal with them
head-on.
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COMPLACENCY
AND THE

10
NORMALIZATION Workers don’t have to work at great heights to risk injury or
death because more than 40% of fatal falls occur from 15 feet

OF RISK or lower.6 The most common height to fall from? Only 6-10 feet.

It’s such a common height to fall from because even though fall
protection is required, it doesn’t seem far off the ground and
workers are less likely to treat it with respect. But the stats don’t
lie—plenty of people fall less than 10 feet and falls from that
height cause over 25% of all fall-related deaths.7

One industry where falls are the biggest concern: Workers may wear their harnesses at heights where the danger
construction. Falls from roofs, ladders and scaffolds is more glaring, but 6 feet can seem like a non-issue for someone
account for nearly 40% of fatalities in the private who regularly works at 30 feet or more.
construction industry. 6

When people work above ground level all day, every day, they
can become complacent with heights. Risk is the norm and even
huge elevations can quickly become familiar, even comfortable.

Once the risk of heights has been normalized, the likelihood of a

fall goes way up.

6
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries Summary, 2015
7
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), “Occupational
Ladder Fall Injuries—United States, 2011”, 2014
 RECOGNIZING
AND
OFFSETTING

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COMPOUNDING
RISK
The higher you work, the greater the risk. Most workers
generally understand this. But fewer people realize how
COMMON RISK
other factors increase the risk exponentially with each new ELEMENTS WHEN
risk factor. WORKING AT HEIGHTS
This means each missing safeguard and each human factor
that is present will increase the likelihood of a fall.
Safeguards not in place
Risk compounds in a way that is too complex to compute in
real time. But it’s possible to offset compounding risk elements Bad working conditions
without complicated calculations. In reality, only three things
are required: Rushing
‰ Knowledge that risk expands as more elements Frustration
are present.
Do workers understand that the likelihood and potential
Fatigue
severity of injury increases as risk grows?

‰ The ability to recognize various risk elements as Complacency with working at

they appear. height or with a task
Can employees recognize when surfaces become
slippery? Are they aware that fatigue and complacency Other distractions present
also increase risk?

‰ Understanding of how to offset risk.

Will people take a moment to clip their harness or tether
their tool? Monitor their balance, traction and grip?
Avoid rushing?
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HUMAN STATES Fatigue alone
is one of the
 RUSHING
ERROR  FRUSTRATION most overlooked
 FATIGUE
escalators of risk.
 COMPLACENCY
Physical protection is vital to safety, but so is human action.
And people are much more likely to make mistakes or make 40% of workers
the wrong decision when they’re frustrated, rushing, fatigued regularly operate
or complacent.
at three times the
These states can lead workers to stop watching or thinking ERRORS risk due to fatigue.
about what they’re doing, lose their footing or drop an object.
 EYES NOT ON TASK
 MIND NOT ON TASK Learn more in a
Any of the four states can turn a perfectly safe situation into a
 LINE OF FIRE free webinar at
dangerous one.
 BALANCE/TRACTION/GRIP
safestart.com/
webinars

OUTCOMES
 INJURY
 NEAR-MISS
 EQUIPMENT DAMAGE/LOSS
 PRODUCTION SLOWDOWN
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ADDRESSING
THE CAUSES
OF
There are two big instigators of human error: structural/production issues and personal

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HUMAN issues. When physical or organizational work factors cause the four states, it’s time to address

ERROR
the cause. This can mean providing more breaks to avoid fatigue or renegotiating deadlines to
reduce rushing. Here are two examples of what this problem could look like in the workplace.

It’s hard, if not impossible, STRUCTURAL/PRODUCTION ISSUES PERSONAL ISSUES

for employees to eliminate
the individual causes of the ISSUES
 TIGHT DEADLINES
ISSUES
 LATE TO WORK AND NEEDS TO CATCH UP
four states.  NOT ENOUGH BREAKS  DISPUTE WITH A CO-WORKER
But with the right training,  CHANGES IN WORKING CONDITIONS  LACK OF SLEEP AT HOME
 ERRORS LEADING TO DELAYS AND FRUSTRATION  “I’M SAFE ENOUGH” ATTITUDE
people working at heights will
be able to minimize how often
they’re in the states that lead
to costly mistakes.
STATES
 RUSHING
STATES
 RUSHING
They can also recognize
that their state and height  FRUSTRATION  FRUSTRATION
 FATIGUE  FATIGUE
significantly increase the risk  COMPLACENCY  COMPLACENCY
so they will take a moment to
adjust their actions to offset
and lower the risk.

ERRORS
 EYES NOT ON TASK
ERRORS
 EYES NOT ON TASK
 MIND NOT ON TASK  MIND NOT ON TASK
 LINE OF FIRE  LINE OF FIRE
 BALANCE/TRACTION/GRIP  BALANCE/TRACTION/GRIP
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SUPERVISORY It’s clear that risk can be normalized—and
it’s up to safety professionals to change
they’re used properly and tied to a larger
human error program.

SUPPORT workers’ perception and regularly remind

them about the dangers of working at
Help supervisors understand the impact
their words and directions have on risk. A
heights.
simple, “We need to get this done today”
Supervisors should be dedicated to fighting can be enough to increase errors and
complacency. But first, companies need to compound risk that is already elevated by
make sure that supervisors have the proper working at heights. “We need to get this
conversation skills and safety awareness. done today, but that doesn’t mean rushing
past safety procedures” might be enough to
One-on-one conversations, reminders and
prevent an incident-causing error or error in
positive interventions can keep workers
judgement—especially if the worker has also
mentally grounded when they’re working at
been trained in human factors.
heights. And toolbox talks and safety posters
can keep safety in everyone’s thoughts if
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HABITS are an
effective safety
tool. They function

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EXECUTION Once workers have the training and experience to safely work at heights,
companies need to help them keep their skills and attention sharp. Many
as an execution aid
by guiding workers
AIDS employers make use of passive execution aids like safety posters or
reminders about PPE requirements. to act safely even
But don’t overlook more active execution aids. They take a bit more effort when they’re
but they can engage workers in ways that banners and slogans can’t. affected by adverse
mental states.

Good safety habits

DEMOS CONVERSATIONS
can lead to better
One of the best ways to get everyone Speaking to workers about their own frame of
participating is to have each employee mind can prompt them to take safer actions,
compliance.
demonstrate how to properly use a piece and gives workers and supervisors alike a Make sure any
of equipment. This is a great way to get better sense of risk levels in the workplace. complacency
workers moving and actively engage the It also encourages everyone to think a little
reduction training
brain, leading to longer-term awareness. more deeply about human error.
includes a healthy
The trick is to have everyone carry out the One of the first things safety managers
physical actions of putting on fall protection notice after using conversation tools like
dose of habit-
or safely deploying a lift or climbing SafeStart’s Rate Your State is just how building.
equipment. As a side benefit, individual powerful a two-minute chat can be. A
demos give supervisors the opportunity to supportive framework for supervisor-worker
notice if anything is being done incorrectly. conversations can dramatically increase the
frequency and efficacy of safety interactions.
If you don’t have a conversation tool, now’s
the time to establish one.
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REDUCING
COMPLACENCY
Complacency is a complicated and stubborn issue. When it KNOWLEDGE
comes to working at heights, it’s also the most common state. ‰ Classroom training to understand complacency
‰ Share stories to drive home the importance
That’s why addressing it takes a multi-pronged approach. of safety when working at heights
Toolbox talks are great on a day-to-day basis but the problem ‰ Introduce cards or other materials to help
also requires periodic and focused attention. workers track levels of complacency

Three factors are proven to address workers’ complacent REAL-TIME AWARENESS

approach towards safety when working at heights. ‰ Recognize the presence of the four states
as they fluctuate throughout the day
‰ Observe colleagues and their safety behavior

ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPORT
‰ Supervisors dedicated to fighting complacency
‰ One-on-one conversations and reminders
‰ Steady rotation of toolbox talks and safety posters
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KNOWLEDGE
Complacency can’t be controlled until everyone
understands what it is and how it works.
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TRAINING DISRUPTING REMINDERS RECOGNIZING STATES

Learning how complacency works requires Complacency requires constant disruption. Complacency often occurs in conjunction with
dedicated training time. A multi-format training Regular one-on-one supervisory interventions rushing, frustration or fatigue. These states
program is ideal as it caters to most learning are a good way to combat complacency. are never static—they rise and fall in real
styles and lets people explore complacency So is posting visual reminders in strategic time. Learning to recognize them in ourselves
in a practical way. locations, adding safety messages to as they fluctuate is an important safety skill
regular communications (such as email that makes it easier to avoid becoming
SHARING STORIES
and lunchroom TVs) or giving people small complacent.
Telling stories about moments of safety reminder cards, notepads or other
complacency—and hearing the stories of WATCHING OTHERS
materials.
others—helps workers truly see how big of It’s easier to notice states like complacency
Not all reminders are created equal or last
an issue complacency can be… and how in others. Seeing a co-worker act complacent
forever—go with something proven that
personal of a problem it is. Share stories in reminds us to consider whether we are
compels workers to actively think about
training and keep the storytelling going during also being complacent. It also provides an
risk, and change the visuals and messages
safety meetings and toolbox talks. opportunity to intervene on the co-worker’s
as frequently as you can to keep them from
behalf.
REAL-TIME AWARENESS drifting out of focus.
The best way to avoid injury when working
at heights is to stay aware of the four states.
Fortunately, real-time safety awareness is
a skill that can sustain itself in a constant
feedback loop.
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PREVENTING
HUMAN
ERROR
WITH
REAL-TIME
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AWARENESS STATES
 RUSHING
 FRUSTRATION
It’s not always possible to avoid states like rushing, frustration,  FATIGUE
fatigue and complacency. Sometimes rushing or working long  COMPLACENCY
hours to stay on schedule is unavoidable.

But it is possible to put up a safety net between the states and

the errors. If people can recognize the states as they happen, A W A R E N E S S
they’re more likely to avoid errors.

The primary goal of human error reduction training like ERRORS

SafeStart is to help workers understand the dangers of these  EYES NOT ON TASK
 MIND NOT ON TASK
states, be aware of when the states are affecting them, and
 LINE OF FIRE
adjust their actions to minimize their risk of falls.
 BALANCE/TRACTION/GRIP
If you can’t eliminate the states then managing them is the
next best thing.

OUTCOMES
 INJURY
 NEAR-MISS
 EQUIPMENT DAMAGE/LOSS
 PRODUCTION SLOWDOWN
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HARNESSING IT

19
ALL
TOGETHER
The most effective way to provide knowledge, real-time skills SAFESTART
and organizational support is to bundle it all into a single Knowing that human error increases risk is only the very
program. It takes a lot of expertise, practice and support to first step in preventing negative outcomes. SafeStart
conquer human error and build the engagement needed for a provides training to educate workers on human error
strong culture of safety. and then give them practical skills and awareness to
stay safe every single day.
To truly keep workers safe at heights, you need to address
human error—and that requires a comprehensive solution SafeStart checks all the boxes to deal with human error
that helps everyone to do their part to keep themselves and in your working at height safety program, including:
others safe. ‰ human error training
‰ better risk awareness
‰ complacency reduction
‰ habit-building support
‰ supervisory component
SafeStart also makes it efficient for companies and
people by solving not only falls from heights, but an
endless list of other serious challenges from slips and
trips to back injuries and distracted driving. Because
SafeStart knowledge and skills are transferable,
workers will be safer no matter where they are or what
they’re doing.
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LEARN
MORE
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