|
Product Code:
|
|
|
Product Code:
|
|
|
Product Code:
|
|
|
Product Code:
|
|
|
Product Code:
|
|
|
Product Code:
|
Government facilities may seem to wield near-unlimited resources, but they also bear a high burden to maximize those resources and set a good example for the industries they either directly or indirectly regulate. These overlapping priorities make highly versatile, free standing roof edge protection and broader protection systems invaluable, as any and every safeguard can help minimize risk and meet regulatory standards at once.
To help achieve those goals in federal worksites, the Federal Advisory Council on Occupational Safety and Health (FACOSH) serves in an advisory role to the Secretary of Labor. Their function extends to "all matters relating to the occupational safety and health of federal employees." Essentially, FACOSH is OSHA's regulatory sub-agency for federal and municipal buildings.
Since 1970, they've largely played two roles in their advisory capacity:
Providing guidance on reducing and minimizing injury and illness in the federal workforce
Encouraging effective occupational safety and health programs throughout federal or municipal facilities
FACOSH also serves as a public forum where citizens can learn and communicate about various health and safety concerns related to federal workplaces.
We'll explore the commonalities and differences between public and private industry regulations, such as the primary need for adaptable guardrail fall protection systems. Then, we'll cover what your government facility can do to maximize compliance with FACOSH recommendations and goals including free standing roof edge protection, specific guardrail types, and more.
Like businesses regulated under "general industry," federal and municipal structures almost always require fall protection systems for any walking/working surface that's at least four (sometimes six) feet higher than the surface below. For flat roof government buildings, the most obvious example of this is a continual steel guardrail system that blocks access to the roof's perimeter.
Because FACOSH recommendations are frequently subject to change, it's important for government facility operators to leverage more flexible rooftop fall protection devices, like free standing roof edge protection. While traditional railing requires extensive labor to remove and reinstall, free-standing or non-penetrating steel guardrails achieve the same standards of protection with modular base plates that enable easy system-wide adjustments.
Generally, federal safety standards are in addition to, and not instead of, general regulatory standards. Thus, it's essential to always reference the OSHA (or CCOHS) regulations affecting your government building if there's any question about basic compliance. Any further guidance (such as FACOSH meetings) will be like an additional layer on top of standard safety requirements.
These additional recommendations may be related to matters as broad as:
Building security
Safer workflows
Accessibility controls
Identification of federal construction sites
FACOSH also takes into account technical standards from organizations such as:
International Organization for Standards (ISO)
American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA)
Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series (OHSAS)
The Federal Advisory Council also considers how to expand and improve on safety programs throughout the country.
While they hold only an advisory role, FACOSH recommendations directly influence the decisions of standard regulatory bodies, including those who write and enforce health and safety standards for private industry and government bodies alike.
One of the most pertinent functions of FACOSH is their recommendations for resource allocation to achieve federal safety goals. This is especially important considering some of their more recent general aims:
Inspecting government workplaces
Collecting information on workplace hazards
Investigating known incidents
Identifying emergency and "non-routine situations"
Assessing the nature of safety hazards and determining appropriate controls
Just as in the commercial sector, government buildings are very active places. As one of the primary safety hazards under regulatory scrutiny, fall protection attracts a lot of attention. Thus, it's as or more important for government buildings to maintain a fully tested and compliant rooftop fall protection system.
As mentioned, federal advisory guidance is highly subject to change, even though it doesn't always move the needle on specific OSHA codes and regulations. However, because federal advisory groups (or the organizations they advise) have more direct control over government bodies, versatility and usability become essential when selecting fall protection equipment for government buildings.
Further, government buildings often play a major role in a community's aesthetics. As a result, it's not uncommon that they prefer more stylish or unobtrusive steel guardrail systems, such as:
Architectural guardrails, for a sleek and modern appearance
Folding guardrails that remain out of sight until rooftop activity takes place
Municipal building managers must contend with the same issues as standard commercial building owners, or even more when they must also protect historical structures. This makes free standing roof edge protection such as non-penetrating steel guardrail systems extremely useful, due to a wide range of benefits:
Maintains passive edge protection without penetrating the roof's surface
Portable design, for easy, low-cost adjustments
Faster adaptation to new advisory guidelines (with, as always, OSHA or CCOHS regulations)
Multifunctionality, for maximum coverage with both standard and non-ordinary fall protection requirements (e.g., odd-shaped parapets or other leading edge obstructions)
A modular guardrail fall protection system can easily adapt to fast-changing advisory council guidelines, fulfilling the widest possible range of fall protection fundamentals. For both private and public institutions, these fundamentals include:
Leading edge protection around a flat roof's perimeter
Handrails at interior and exterior access points (i.e., stairs, ladders, or hatches)
Widespread compatibility with self-closing swing gates and other fall protection systems
Guiding and limiting rooftop movement to points of interest with minimal risk
Creating fall protection barriers around dangerous equipment
Contrast these advantages with traditional, more permanent steel guardrail systems, which require extensive installation that usually damages the roof's surface. Instead, industries are increasingly relying on free standing roof edge protection with non-penetrating, movable base plates.
Modular guardrails are especially effective for federal and municipal buildings, because government agencies can implement new regulations almost on command. This is worlds apart from private industry regulations, which involve more extensive administrative processes and much slower changes.
Yet for both commercial and government purposes, the best fall protection solutions are those designed for maximum adaptation to new situations and compliance standards. In the end, it' doesn't matter how those standards arise. What matters is your ability to adapt to them with minimal expense.
BlueWater has years of experience designing modular fall protection equipment that meets numerous regulatory standards, including for federal workplaces. That means you can rest assured that when we test and certify our equipment, we've done so according to the widest possible range of compliance requirements across the public and private sector.
We also specialize in providing you with a custom-engineered fall protection system, so those with more nuanced safety requirements can still maximize worker safety in unique working-at-height situations. Contact us to day and one of our experienced fall protections experts will be more than happy to discuss the guardrail fall protection needs at your government facility.
