Vancouver DOSH Unified Fall Protection Rule Stakeholder Meeting

Dear stakeholder,

You are invited to attend a meeting to discuss changes to our fall protection rules.

The Division of Occupational Safety and Health will host six stakeholder meetings across the state between April and July to hear from fall protection stakeholders.

We have heard from many stakeholders who said a single unified fall protection standard that applied to all industries statewide would be easier to implement and help protect workers from fall hazards. We value your input and want to hear what you think a unified fall protection standard should look like.

We are hosting these meetings this spring and summer because in November 2016, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration updated their fall protection rules for general industry to align more closely with their construction fall protection requirements. Because Washington’s rules need to be at least as effective as OSHA rules, we are required to update our rules so they meet or exceed the federal safety requirements.

The OSHA rule's most significant update allows employers to select the fall protection system that works best for them, choosing from a range of accepted options including personal fall protection systems. OSHA has permitted the use of personal fall protection systems in construction since 1994 and the final rule adopts similar requirements for general industry. The changes also allow employers to use rope descent systems up to 300 feet above a lower level; prohibiting the use of body belts as part of a personal fall arrest system; and requiring worker training on personal fall protection systems and fall equipment.

Please RSVP for a meeting that is convenient for you using the meeting links below. We want to ensure we have enough space for everyone attending.

• Tukwila, April 24, 9 a.m.  to 12 p.m., Tukwila Community Center, 12424 42nd Ave S, Tukwila, WA 98168 (RSVP via Eventbrite.com)

• Bellingham, May 17, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., L&I Bellingham service location (RSVP via Eventbrite.com)

• Vancouver, June 27, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., Water Resource Education Center, Vancouver, WA (RSVP via Eventbrite.com)

• Wenatchee, July 10, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Chelan County Fire District, 206 Easy St., Wenatchee, WA 98801 (RSVP Evenetbrite.com)

• Yakima, July 18, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., L&I Yakima service location (RSVP via Eventbrite.com)

• Spokane, July 19, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., Enduris Spokane, WA(RSVP via Eventbrite.com)

Anyone interested in receiving future messages about fall protection should also sign-up for our Fall Protection Listserv.

We also created a web page where we will post current and future information about this important project.

Please forward this message to anyone interested in attending.