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Last edited 15 Nov 2024

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Hierarchy of fall protection

1 Introducing the hierarchy
2 Elimination
3 Substitution
4 Engineering Controls

[edit] Introducing the hierarchy

Indication is that Herbert William Heinrich proposed the first hierarchy for the management of occupational safety, hazard control and prevention in general, Heinrich's pyramid. His theory of industrial accident prevention was first proposed in 1931 and propoeses that for every accident that results in a major injury, there are 29 accidents that result in minor injuries and 300 accidents that result in no injuries. The pyramid itself can be sourced at the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health dated 2014.

The Hierarchy of Controls (for fall protection) was established by the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and is also referred to by the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in its decription of working at height at the hierarchy of controls – avoid, prevent, arrest. Indication is that the Hierarchy of fall protection was introduced by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and The American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) also referred to as ANSI-Z359.

This diagram was published by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to describe the hierarchy and is was published by the OSHA in their guidance on identifying hazard control options.

The guidance goes on to describe examples at each of the section of the hierarchy:

[edit] Elimination

Elimination makes sure the hazard no longer exists. Examples:

Ending the use of a hazardous material
Doing work at ground level rather than at heights
Stopping the use of noisy processes

[edit] Substitution

Substitution means changing out a material or process to reduce the hazard. Examples:

Switching to a less hazardous material
Switching to a process that uses less force, speed, temperature, or electrical current

[edit] Engineering Controls

Engineering controls reduce exposure by preventing hazards from coming into

contact with workers. They still allow workers to do their jobs, though. Examples:

• Noise enclosures

• Local exhaust ventilation

• Guardrail system

• Machine guards

• Interlocks

• Lift equipment

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