OSHA final rule on slips, trips, falls planned for August

June 21st, 2016 by Dakota Software Staff Industry News

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has set August as the target release date for a new final rule related to walking and working surfaces and personal fall protection systems. The rule is part of OSHA's spring regulatory agenda, which was released in mid-May and informs businesses, EHS professionals and many others about the goals - if not the concrete plans - of the federal health and safety regulator. Safety+Health magazine pointed out that while the agenda is more of a guide than a rigorously followed schedule, OSHA previously indicated a new rule related to walking and working surfaces was selected as a priority for completion before President Obama leaves office.

Potential to make big changes
The rules related to walking and working surfaces and associated concerns has sat in a state of uncertainty for some time. Safety+Health said the most recent update to the final rule, made in 1990, was found to be outdated by the time the agency conducted a review in 2003. The original version of the prospective new rule was itself published in 2010 and has been in the process of moving from proposal to active regulation ever since. With the indication that the White House will prioritize the completion of the process to an extent, it's certainly possible OSHA will hit its August goal and issue the new rule in final form at that point.

David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health, told Safety+Health the new rule will have a "big impact" on the future of worker safety considerations related to it. The rule is targeted to general industry, meaning its reach would be vast. A wide variety of companies that have employees work from heights and on potentially dangerous surfaces may have to comply with the new rule and make potentially significant changes to EHS processes.

Trade publication Fire Engineering highlighted a different side of the proposed final rule, noting that emergency responders and some maintenance workers will still have to contend with non-compliant buildings. The price for businesses that lack compliance with the current or the proposed rule is high. They have to contend with the potential for increased damage, sometimes to vital systems, should an emergency situation arise. That consideration, along with the obvious issues with employee safety and potential OSHA fines associated with noncompliance, means businesses need to pay attention to this proposed final rule as it quickly moves forward.