Osha Attic Safety

Attics crawlspaces have been covered by osha for 20 years.

Osha attic safety.

Evaluate every worksite prior to doing any work. Osha requires that anchors for a pfas either be able to hold at least 5 000 pounds per worker or maintain a safety factor of at least two twice the impact load and be used under the supervision of a qualified person. 10 safety tips for working in the attic recently we restarted our air sealing insulation articles again and in the most recent article on hot roofs we mentioned that now is a good time to work in your attic at least if you live in the south. Osha has developed a standard for confined spaces in construction 29 cfr 1926 subpart aa that applies to spaces such as attics basements and crawl spaces.

Osha says attics and crawl spaces require 4 gas monitors posted by justin mccarter on feb 19th 2016 plumbers electricians carpenters hvac techs and many other tradesmen find themselves crawling around attics and crawlspaces on a regular basis. However under osha s new confined spaces in construction standards 29 cfr 1926 subpart aa attics can be considered confined spaces and permit required confined spaces. Now they are going to need to bring one more piece of equipment with them a personal 4 gas monitor. Atmospheric hazards e g poor ventilation.

A lanyard attaches to this anchor at one end and clips onto the back of the wearer s safety harness. An anchor belt capable of holding 5 000 pounds is secured to one of the truss or rafters. The recent osha action clarifies the standard. Per osha 1910 23 d 2 the minimum perpendicular distance from the centerline of the steps or rungs or grab bars or both to the nearest permanent object in back of the ladder is 7 inches.

Properly designed safety rules are not established to get a good result if a business is inspected. This 7 inch minimum stand off clearance protects the person climbing the ladder from likely trip hazards that would exist with less free space between the ladder and building. It is important however to remember that the main concern should not be passing an osha inspection but rather the safety of employees. We all have a duty to protect ourselves and our employees.