The TopTen OSHA Violations Before Christmas. On the Third Day

Santa received a notice of violation( 1926.503) Fall Protection – Training Requirements.  This happens to be #8 on OSHA’s TopTen violations for 2019. (Still #8 in 2023)

Thanks to your help, it appears we’re on a roll solving the issues at Santa’s Northpole workshop so let’s keep the momentum going.  Training is the most critical part of safety.  Without it, you may not know how to properly adjust and wear PPE, how to check PPE is in proper working order, what conditions require you to wear PPE, and how to respond if PPE fails.  There are several ways to prevent falls and whether using a safety harness and tether or railings and handrails training needs to be conducted for all of them.

Even Santa didn’t just wake up one morning and say, hey, I think I’ll climb down chimneys to deliver toys for a living.  (Well he actually may have).  He had to learn how to and then practice repeatedly to safely land on a roof with a team of reindeer as well as get down and back up a chimney without detection.  The hours of training he received from chimney sweeps and ninjas are countless.

Santa needs to make sure that all of his elves and other employees get training before they are allowed to work at heights over 6 feet from the ground (9 feet in Arizona).

1. Classroom training – all the employees at the workshop are required to attend the training which should include hazards that can be encountered when working at heights and why you need to wear the proper PPE.  Carrying a sheet of plywood on a roof may seem easy but if a gust of wind comes along and catches it, chances are you’ll be airborne and fall without the proper protection.
2. Live Demonstrations – A senior employee can show how to properly wear PPE/fall prevention gear and then allow all employees to try on and wear the PPE to get a feel for it.
3. Document and keep on file all training including signatures of attendees and the actual material covered.
4. Don’t try and be a nice guy.  Uniformly and fairly enforce the rules to prevent falls.

We’ll begin conducting training today in shifts so the elves can keep working throughout.  The deadline is near and Santa is still not out of the OSHA woods yet!