NAHB is offering a free webinar to help members comply with new Occupational Safety and Health Administration fall protection requirements that will go into effect on June 16.

“OSHA Fall Protection” will be held from 10:00-11:30 a.m. on Friday, May 6.

The new requirements replace a 1995 OSHA directive that was a source of confusion among home builders over what fall protection methods and systems should be used to comply with OSHA’s fall protection standards.

Builders now will be required to follow 29 CFR 1926 Subpart M Fall Protection Regulations, a change resulting from OSHA’s Dec. 22 decision to withdraw the Plain Language Revision of OSHA Instruction STD 3.1, Interim Fall Protection Compliance Guidelines for Residential Construction.

To help members prepare for this change, NAHB has been offering free in-person Fall Protection Training Seminars, which are funded through a grant provided by OSHA’s Susan Harwood Training Grant Program. NAHB has trained nearly 1,000 housing professionals to date and has scheduled training seminars at more than 40 sites across the country.

Matt Murphy, president of SEE, Inc., a safety training consultant with more than 12 years of experience establishing and implementing occupational safety and health programs in the residential and commercial construction industries, is the primary instructor during the NAHB in-person training sessions.

Murphy also will be the presenter for the webinar, which is based on the in-person training.

During the webinar, participants will:

• Learn about the changes to OSHA's fall protection requirements and how they will affect compliance
  
  
• Receive guidance on how to comply with OSHA’s Fall Protection Regulation (Subpart M), as it applies to residential construction
  
  
• Understand how a written site-specific fall protection plan is used — including examples of circumstances where it may be warranted

Changes to the requirements were outlined in the Jan.10 edition of Nation’s Building News.

In addition to the webinar, training materials used in the in-person training sessions can be downloaded and delivered to employees and members directly. The materials include a PowerPoint presentation, an instructor’s guide and a post-instruction test, which can be downloaded in English or Spanish.

To Register

The webinar is free for NAHB members and $44.95 for non-members.

To register, click here on the NAHB website, and then use promo code 11WWOS when adding the webinar to the shopping cart to eliminate the registration fee. Members must be logged into the NAHB website to complete the free registration.

For more information on fall protection, visit www.nahb.org/fallprotection; or email Marcus Odorizzi at NAHB, or call him at 800-368-5242 x8590.

Boost Job Site Safety With Fall Protection Training Products

In an effort to increase job site safety and reduce the chance of job related accidents, NAHB has produced the “Fall Protection Video, English-Spanish” and “NAHB-OSHA Fall Protection Handbook, English-Spanish.”

Both are available through BuilderBooks.com.

The 30-minute “Fall Protection Video, English-Spanish” can be used by builders to train workers to use safe work practices that eliminate fall hazards and comply with OSHA fall-protection standards.

The “NAHB-OSHA Fall Protection Handbook, English-Spanish” provides guidelines for creating a written fall-protection plan and identifying safe work practices that can prevent costly accidents and injuries. Written with clear text, photographs and illustrations, the book serves as a user-friendly resource for promoting safety on any job site.

To purchase the handbook and video online, click here, or call 800-223-2665.