Fall Protection Basics
Falls are the number one killer in construction. Not exotic accidents — routine work at height where the protection stayed in the truck because the job was 'just a few minutes.'
How to run it
Read it through once, then talk it — don't recite it. Five minutes at the start of the shift, crew standing where the work happens. Under O. Reg. 213/91, s. 14(3)–(4), the talk is held by a supervisor or a competent person the supervisor appoints — and the sign-in sheet is what proves it happened.
Talk through these points
- Know your site's fall protection plan — anchor points, systems in use, and rescue. If you can't name the plan, that's today's problem to fix.
- Inspect your harness before each use: webbing, stitching, D-rings, buckles, and the label. Damage or a deployed shock absorber means it's done.
- A harness only works with the right anchor. Guessing at an anchor point is not an anchor point.
- Fit matters: snug legs and chest, D-ring between the shoulder blades. A loose harness turns a fall arrest into an injury of its own.
- Guardrails beat harnesses — engineering the hazard away beats strapping into it. Ask whether the edge can be railed first.
- A suspended worker after a fall is still an emergency — rescue has to happen in minutes, which is why the plan exists BEFORE the fall.
Ask the crew
- Who inspected their harness this morning — actually looked at it?
- What's our rescue plan if someone's hanging on the east wall?
- Is there an edge on this job we could guard instead of harnessing?
The answers are the real talk. If a question lands on a live hazard, write it down and assign it a name and a date.
Paper it
A talk without a record didn't happen, as far as anyone who asks is concerned. Print these free:
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