OSHA

This is from the OSHA site in the FAQ section. http://www.osha.gov/doc/ click on RESIDENTIAL FALL TRAINING

Can monitors still be used?

Under 1926.501(b)(10), safety monitoring systems can be used in conjunction with a warning line system to protect employees during the performance of roofing work on roofs of 4 in 12 pitch or less. When such a roof is 50 feet (15.25 m) or less in width, a safety monitoring system can be used alone, i.e., without a warning line system. Under 1926.501(b)(13), if the employer can demonstrate that the use of conventional fall protection would be infeasible or create a greater hazard, monitors may be used as part of an employer's written fall protection plan under 1926.502(k).

Are there requirements for safety monitoring systems?

Yes. Safety monitoring systems must meet the requirements of 29 CFR 1926.502(h) including, but not limited to, requirements that the monitor:

be competent to recognize fall hazards; be on the same walking working surface and within visual sighting distance of the employee being monitored; be close enough to communicate orally with the employee; and not have other responsibilities which could take the monitor's attention from the monitoring function.

We had dabbled wth the alternative methods when they first came about years ago....We somehow gravitated back to the original; Much easier to implement and control....Most all the residential is piece-work, so it was soley to help the employee make the most $ they could....I think most in this area either comply with original or not at all....business as usual....

And then the people will ask: "Why on earth does it cost so much for a roof?"

OSHA acts to protect residential roofing workers

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OSHA acts to protect residential roofing workers 12/27/2010 WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration today announced a new directive withdrawing a former one that allowed residential builders to bypass fall protection requirements. The directive being replaced, issued in 1995, initially was intended as a temporary policy and was the result of concerns about the feasibility of fall protection in residential building construction. However, there continues to be a high number of fall-related deaths in construction, and industry experts now feel that feasibility is no longer an issue or concern.

"Fatalities from falls are the number one cause of workplace deaths in construction. We cannot tolerate workers getting killed in residential construction when effective means are readily available to prevent those deaths," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. "Almost every week, we see a worker killed from falling off a residential roof. We can stop these fatalities, and we must."

The National Association of Home Builders recommended rescinding the 1995 directive, as did OSHA's labor-management Advisory Committee for Construction Safety and Health; the AFL-CIO; and the Occupational Safety and Health State Plan Association, which represents the 27 states and territories that run their own occupational safety and health programs.

According to data from the department's Bureau of Labor Statistics, an average of 40 workers are killed each year as a result of falls from residential roofs. One-third of those deaths represent Latino workers, who often lack sufficient access to safety information and protections. Latino workers comprise more than one-third of all construction employees.

OSHA's action today rescinds the Interim Fall Protection Compliance Guidelines for Residential Construction, Standard 03-00-001. Prior to the issuance of this new directive, Standard 03-00-001 allowed employers engaged in certain residential construction activities to use specified alternative methods of fall protection rather than the conventional fall protection required by the residential construction fall protection standard. With the issuance of today's new directive, all residential construction employers must comply with 29 Code of Federal Regulations 1926.501(b)(13). Where residential builders find that traditional fall protection is not feasible in residential environments, 29 CFR 1926.501(b)(13) still allows for alternative means of providing protection.

Construction and roofing companies will have up to six months to comply with the new directive. OSHA has developed training and compliance assistance materials for small employers and will host a webinar for parties interested in learning more about complying with the standard. To view the directive and for more information, visit http://www.osha.gov/doc/residential_...rotection.html

I don't think Tim is right in this case. I'm not saying I believe there aren't numerous people in government who salivate at the opportunity to rake in a ton of penalty income, and I admit freely that I have not researched the particular individuals well enough to be certain about this, but I truly suspect this whole business is the result of some whacked out do-gooder living entirely in his head with no clue about what makes real life worth living. Perfectionist, fey, and futile idiocy at its best. Let me see now, if we could only find a way to plug up this blow-hole we could get rid of all these annoying little puffs of steam. If it moves, kill it. I've already made my case, but I'm going to keep at this forever. This is a DESPICABLE development. Not even worthy of contempt. Criminal tyranny. Absolutely loathsome.

[size=5]"...40 feet to his death through a roof opening ... "[/size]

What in the hell does that have to do with a 4/12 single-story residential building???? [size=4]Get real.[/size] :angry:

Here's a cut and paste from Wikipedia,

"...While recognizing bureaucracy as the most efficient form of organization, and even indispensable for the modern state, Weber also saw it as a threat to individual freedoms, and the ongoing bureaucratization as leading to a "polar night of icy darkness", in which increasing rationalization of human life traps individuals in the aforementioned "iron cage" of bureaucratic, rule-based, rational control.[8][3] In order to counteract bureaucrats, the system needs entrepreneurs and politicians.[3 ..."

[size=5]"...because I didn't require a safe workplace... "[/size]

That's what this discussion is all about: Not WHO decides what is safe, but WHAT is safe. I personally think hardhats should be replaced with crash helmets. Furthermore, it should be a felony to allow your children to climb a tree. We take entirely too many risks in this country. What we need is a uniform population where everyone is obese, lazy, stupid, harnessed, and the most dangerous thing they ever encounter is the edge of a couch or a bag of Fritos. No offense, but you don't even know the meaning of :angry: soldierboy. You can glare at me all you like. I've been doing this forty years and nobody has even come close to dying. And YES, we do HAVE and USE fall protection when it is reasonable. We don't even LIKE heights. We NEVER fool around on heights!!! You only need babysitters when you put babies on your payroll. I have no interest in working with or around babies or morons. Dying is not so bad when you compare it to living in a strait-jacket because you have allowed the lowest common denominator to DICTATE a standard for everyone. Heart attacks are a huge killer, WAY more of a killer than construction falls. Why are you not required to buy a BP monitor and use it EVERY time you drive-up to one of those burger windows and order your Big Fries and Jumbo Snack. It's time to start making Citizens Arrests, isn't it. Sanctimony. Nothing but blatantly empty sanctimony.

egg Said: ...Over 5,700 men or woman died from preventable falls last year....

I just love statistics. In our industry: 40 Doesnt matter how many ropes. Doesnt matter how many hardhats. Doesnt matter how many combat boots.

40 in the whole country in the whole year for the whole industry. No matter what anybody does, incidents will end up being assigned to that statistical column. Even if you outlawed roofing altogether.

I am disgusted. Nanny state. r-i-d-i-c-u-l-o-u-s