Improper Practices, Gear Cited in Fatal Falls
BY BRUCE TAYLOR SEEMAN, Newhouse News Service
In every fatal fall, experts say, death could have been avoided. Today's safety equipment includes netting, harnesses, and warning lines that alert workers who are nearing disaster.
But none of the safeguards can nullify human mistakes -- by workers who develop bad habits, employers who skimp on safety or tell crews to cut corners.
'You give a guy a harness with a lanyard,' says Daniel Paine, a safety consultant. 'What you've given him is part of the solution. How's he going to use this thing? Is there an anchor he can tie to? You need to make sure that from the time he steps off terra firma to the time he comes back down, he has fall protection.'
Government reports show the limitless ways workers can die: