Episode 62
Making Fall Protection Personal: The True Story Behind OSHA’s Top Most Cited Standard
In this episode, Editor Sydny Shepard interviews Thomas Kramer, Managing Principal at LJB, Inc, on fall protection standards and what organizations, employers and safety directors can be doing to ensure the safety of their workers at heights.
- By Sydny Shepard
- Mar 25, 2021
Just a few episodes back, I announced OSHA’s new Top 10 Most Frequently Cited Standards. Sitting at the top, for the 10th year in a row was Fall Protection – General Requirements. To those in the industry, this is not a surprise. Also included in the list at number eight was Fall Protection – Training Requirements. When the violation numbers are combined, these two fall protection standards accounted for 29 percent of the top 10’s combined violation count.
What does this list mean? Do the violation numbers tell the true story of how fall protection standards are being implemented at worksites across the country? I wanted to understand more about this obvious widespread issue, so I decided to turn to a known and trusted source on the topic: Thom Kramer.
Thom has been on the podcast before, and in our interview, you’ll get to learn a little more about him. I would regret not reading off his long list of qualifications, however. Thom is a dually registered professional engineer and certified safety professional with over 24 years of experience. He has spent much of his career consulting with clients to reduce the risk for workers at heights. He specializes in the assessment and design of fall protection systems, as well as fall protection program development and training.
Thom is the chair of the ANSI Z359 Committee that develops fall protection consensus standards, and he chairs two subcommittees as well. He also serves as the president of the International Society for Fall Protection.
What’s the true story of fall protection standards? Find out in my interview with Thom Kramer. Download, stream and listen to this episode of OH&S SafetyPod on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify and more.
About the Author
Sydny Shepard is the former editor of Occupational Health & Safety.