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805 Fall Protection in Construction
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Analyzing Fall Hazards

After identifying an existing or potential fall hazard, it's important to analyze the hazard by looking at its unique characteristics. Two important fall-hazard characteristics to analyze to determine risk are probability and severity.

Determine Probability

The probability, or likelihood, that a hazard will cause a fall.

  1. Distance of the fall. A person in free-fall will accelerate until he or she reaches a terminal velocity of about 120 mph.
  2. Speed of deceleration. The faster you stop or decelerate at impact, the greater the impact forces on the body and severity of injury.
  3. Nature of the surface. The "hardness" of the surface upon which the worker falls affects the intensity of the impact and the severity of injury.
  4. Orientation of the body at impact. The severity of the injury also depends on the position of the body when it strikes the surface, and that is a matter of luck more than anything else.

Determine Severity

An important part of hazard analysis is to determine how severe an injury might be as a result of exposure to a hazard. Estimating the severity of an injury after a fall is difficult because it is depends on many variables. A basic rule regarding the severity of an injury after a fall is that, "it's not the fall that gets you, it's that sudden deceleration on impact."

  1. Distance of the fall. A person in free-fall will accelerate until he or she reaches a terminal velocity of about 120 mph.
  2. Speed of deceleration. The faster you stop or decelerate at impact, the greater the impact forces on the body and severity of injury.
  3. Nature of the surface. The "hardness" of the surface upon which the worker falls affects the intensity of the impact and the severity of injury.
  4. Orientation of the body at impact. The severity of the injury also depends on the position of the body when it strikes the surface, and that is a matter of luck more than anything else.

Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.

3-3. Which two basic characteristics of a fall hazard do you analyze to determine risk?