Jobsite readiness and hazard controls · Lesson 2 of 4

Jobsite readiness and hazard controls: materials, standards and design constraints

The numbers inside each control: guardrail heights and loads, warning line distances and build, safety monitor rules, cover ratings, fall arrest limits, ladder set-up, metal near power lines, heat and weather.

You will be able to: Identify the numeric criteria for guardrails, warning lines, safety monitors, covers, fall arrest and ladders, and the constraints set by roof slope, roof width, power lines, heat and weather.

21 min · 12 slides · 21 questions

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Slide 1 of 12

Guardrails and toeboards

The top edge of a guardrail is 42 in, plus or minus 3 in, above the walking/working level.

The top rail withstands at least 200 lb applied within 2 in of its top edge, in any outward or downward direction.

Where no wall or parapet at least 21 in high stands below the top rail, midrails, screens or similar members go in; midrails sit midway.

Toeboards are at least 3-1/2 in high.

A: Top rail: 42 in, plus or minus 3 in, above the walking/working level
B: Midrail, midway between the top rail and the surface
C: Toeboard, at least 3-1/2 in high
D: Post
E: Test load: at least 200 lb within 2 in of the top edge, in any outward or downward direction (1926.502(b)(3))

Criteria from 29 CFR 1926.502(b) and (j). Midrails are needed where no wall or parapet at least 21 in high is below the top rail. Not to scale.

Sources

29 CFR 1926 Subpart M - Fall Protection (1926.500 to 1926.503 and Appendix A), CFR 7-1-23 edition - U.S. Government Publishing Office (govinfo)

Videos for this lesson

What this video shows: OSHA prevention video. Framers on a second floor step into an unguarded stairwell opening and fall 20 ft; the replay adds a guardrail and a secured cover. Framing, not roofing, but the same hole rules. Checked against OSHA's published transcript.

Video: Falls in Construction/Floor Openings by USDepartmentofLabor, on YouTube. AFS checked its transcript against this lesson.

Glossary

Warning line system: A barrier on a roof that warns employees they are approaching an unprotected roof side or edge.
Safety-monitoring system: A system in which a competent person is responsible for recognizing and warning employees of fall hazards.
Mechanical equipment: Motor or human-propelled wheeled equipment used for roofing work, except wheelbarrows and mopcarts.
Toeboard: A low barrier that stops materials and equipment falling to lower levels; at least 3-1/2 in high.
General Duty Clause: Section 5(a)(1) of the OSH Act: a workplace free from recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious harm. OSHA uses it for heat.