Sheet 11Domain 2 of 5 · Hazard Identification and Control
Falls, ladders and scaffolds: the 1926 rules an STSC supervisor enforces
By mid-morning on a four-story frame you can count a dozen ways to fall: an open stairwell, a leading edge on the deck, a ladder set at the wrong angle, a parapet lower than your knee. Fall protection on a construction site is several rules, one each for edges, ladders, scaffolds and aerial lifts, and this sheet sorts them by subpart.
Edges, holes and roofs fall under 29 CFR 1926 Subpart M (1926.500 to 1926.503). Scaffolds sit in Subpart L, aerial lifts in 1926.453, and stairways and ladders in Subpart X. Each has its own fall-protection rule, so place the scene in the right subpart before you reach for a number. The 4-foot figure belongs to general industry; fall protection trigger heights lays out the 6-foot construction rule and its exceptions.
The cards on this sheet describe a crew mid-task, often in a hurry. Read each one for who is exposed at this moment, and to what drop.
Ladder setups have their own sheet: ladder rules on the STSC covers the 4-to-1 angle, the 3-foot extension above a landing and the top-step rule.
Talking point 02
Guardrail heights in inches
Top rail 42 in, plus or minus 3 (29 CFR 1926.502(b)(1)); midrail halfway between the top rail and the walking surface (1926.502(b)(2)); a stairway or ladder at any break in elevation of 19 in or more (1926.1051(a)).scroll →Talking point 03
Numbers a fall arrest system has to meet
Personal fall arrest and guardrail limits, 29 CFR 1926.502scroll →
Limit
Value
Paragraph
Free fall before the system engages
6 ft or less, with no contact with a lower level
1926.502(d)(16)(iii)
Deceleration distance
3.5 ft or less
1926.502(d)(16)(iv)
Arresting force on a worker in a harness
1,800 lb at most
1926.502(d)(16)(ii)
Body belts for fall arrest
Not allowed since Jan 1, 1998
1926.502(d)
Top rail strength
200 lb outward or downward
1926.502(b)(3)
Hole cover strength
Twice the load it may carry
1926.502(i)(2)
Checked against eCFR on Oct 12, 2026.
Talking point 04
Work-at-height cards
Harnesses, lifts, scaffolds, ladders, walkways and material stacked near openings.
Card 1 of 15 · 0 right
Card 1
A supervisor is issuing full-body harnesses to a crew that will work from boom lifts. Which consideration is MOST important for each worker's harness?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
AFor fall arrest, OSHA places the harness attachment at the center of the back near shoulder level or above the head, not on a front chest D-ring.
BOSHA sets no fixed service life for harnesses; each one is inspected before use and removed when it shows damage or wear.
CMatching the crew's brand has no safety value if the harness does not fit the person wearing it.
DCorrect: A harness only works when sized and adjusted to its wearer, since a loose fit can let a worker slip out or concentrate arrest forces on the body.
Card 2
The main foot route to a material hoist crosses a muddy, rutted area where two workers slipped this week. Which action is the MOST effective control?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
AA briefing depends on people remembering, and the rutted, muddy surface that caused the slips stays in place.
BCorrect: Rebuilding the walking surface is an engineering control that removes the slip hazard for everyone, so it outranks training, signs and footwear.
CSlip-resistant boots are PPE that protect only the wearer and lose grip in deep mud, so they rank below fixing the surface.
DWarning signs rely on attention and do nothing to change the muddy, rutted surface that caused the slips.
Card 3
Several scissor lifts will operate at once in a tenant fit-out area. Which step BEST prevents tip-over and crushing incidents with the lifts?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
AHorns help communication between operators but leave holes, slopes and overhead obstructions in place along the travel paths.
BIdentical controls may reduce operator error, but they do not address the ground and overhead conditions that cause tip-overs and crushing.
CKeeping lifts at one height does nothing about drop-offs or slopes, and it does not prevent crushing against overhead structures.
DCorrect: Scissor lifts tip when driven into holes or onto slopes and crush workers against overhead structures, so surveying travel paths addresses both hazards directly.
Card 4
Roofers arriving for the roofing phase have never used the site's horizontal lifeline system. When must they be trained on it?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
ACorrect: Fall protection training must be completed before each worker is exposed to fall hazards, and it should cover the actual system they will use.
BWaiting for a monthly meeting leaves untrained roofers working at the edge on an unfamiliar system in the meantime.
CThe fall protection rules allow no 30-day grace period; training has to come before exposure.
DLetting workers use the system untrained for a full shift puts them at risk before anyone confirms they know how to use it.
Card 5
An anchorage for personal fall arrest will be attached to a beam that cannot support 5,000 lb per worker. Who must design the anchorage system?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
AExperience using a beam is not engineering design; an anchorage below 5,000 lb must be designed with a safety factor under qualified supervision.
BCorrect: An anchorage that cannot hold 5,000 lb per worker must be designed as part of a complete system with a safety factor of at least two under a qualified person.
CA competent person identifies and corrects hazards but lacks the design credentials the anchorage rule requires.
DA daily visual check by a competent person does not establish the strength the anchorage needs to arrest a fall.
Card 6
Workers are climbing the cross braces of a frame scaffold to reach a work platform 12 feet above grade. What should the supervisor require?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
ACorrect: Access is required when a platform is more than 2 feet above the access point, and cross braces may never be used as a means of access.
BTying off while climbing does not make cross braces an acceptable access method, which the scaffold rules prohibit outright.
CThree points of contact sounds like good practice, but the braces are not designed or spaced as a ladder.
DPinning the braces secures the frame, yet it still leaves workers climbing a component never meant for access.
Card 7
Carpenters stripping forms have piled scrap lumber with protruding nails on a stair landing that other trades use. What should the supervisor require?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
ACaution tape still leaves debris and exposed nails on a stairway that other trades must use all day.
BPushing the pile aside leaves scrap with protruding nails on the stair landing, which housekeeping rules require to be cleared.
CPuncture-resistant insoles are PPE that ignore the trip hazard and protect only workers who wear them.
DCorrect: Scrap lumber with protruding nails must be kept cleared from stairs and passageways, and removing or bending the nails eliminates the puncture hazard.
Card 8
An electrician repeatedly climbs a stepladder while holding a box of fittings in one hand. What should the supervisor require?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
AHolding the base steadies the ladder, but the climber still carries a load that can throw off balance.
BKeeping one hand on the ladder does not cure the problem; carrying a load that can cause loss of balance is itself prohibited.
CCorrect: hauling materials by tool bag or hand line keeps the climber's hands free and avoids carrying a load that upsets balance.
DA taller ladder cuts the number of trips, but the worker still climbs with a box in one hand.
Card 9
A worker in an articulating boom lift needs to reach a beam connection a few feet beyond the basket. He plans to unclip his lanyard from the basket anchor and clip it to the steel beam. What should the supervisor require?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
ACorrect: In an aerial lift the lanyard stays on the boom or basket anchor, and the operator moves the lift closer instead of the worker reaching out.
BThe beam's strength is not the issue. If the lift moves, a lanyard tied to the beam can pull the worker out of the basket.
CA parked lift can still move or be moved, and the rule does not allow trading the basket anchor for the structure.
DWorkers must stand on the basket floor. Climbing on the rails puts their center of gravity above the guardrail.
Card 10
A superintendent is reviewing the loads a supported scaffold must carry for a masonry crew stocking block and mortar. Under OSHA's scaffold standard, each scaffold and component must support its own weight plus at least how many times the maximum intended load?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
AToo high for this case. Six times the intended load is the rule for suspension scaffold ropes, not for a supported scaffold.
BToo low. A factor of two is the safety factor for a designed fall-arrest anchorage, not for scaffold capacity.
CCorrect: Each scaffold and component must hold its own weight plus at least four times the maximum load intended for it.
DToo low. OSHA sets the scaffold capacity factor above three times the intended load.
Card 11
During the pre-shift inspection of a frame scaffold, the competent person finds uncleated planks that extend only about 3 inches past the centerline of their end supports. What should be done before anyone uses the platform?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
AResting on the support is not enough. A short bearing lets the plank slip off when it flexes or shifts.
BCorrect: Uncleated planks must extend at least 6 inches over the centerline of each support so they cannot slide off.
CThe 12-inch figure caps how far a short plank may overhang. It does not excuse too little bearing at either end.
DFewer workers do not fix the bearing. A lightly loaded plank can still slip off a short support.
Card 12
During a pre-use check, a carpenter finds a split side rail on an extension ladder. What should the supervisor ensure happens NEXT?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
AA field splint does not restore the rail's rated strength, and a height limit does not make a structurally defective ladder safe.
BReturning an untagged ladder to the gang box lets the next worker use it before anyone notices the split rail.
CA worker holding the base helps against slipping but cannot stop a split rail from failing under load.
DCorrect: a ladder with structural defects must be tagged Do Not Use or marked defective and withdrawn from service until repaired.
Card 13
A mason is working from a supported frame scaffold, and the guardrails have not been installed yet. Under OSHA's scaffold standard, above what height over a lower level must the mason be protected from falling?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
AWrong subpart. Six feet is the Subpart M trigger for floor edges and other walking surfaces, not for scaffolds.
BToo high. Fifteen feet is the steel erection trigger, not the scaffold trigger.
CCorrect: 29 CFR 1926.451(g)(1) requires fall protection for each employee on a scaffold more than 10 feet above a lower level.
DThis is the general-industry (1910) trigger, not a construction scaffold rule.
Card 14
During a pre-shift inspection, a supervisor finds one leg of a frame scaffold resting on stacked concrete blocks to level it on sloped ground. What should be done?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
AReducing the number of workers does not fix an unstable footing, which can fail under any load.
BConcrete blocks are listed among the unstable objects that may not be used to support or level scaffold legs, solid or not.
CTies help resist tipping, but they do not correct a leg bearing on an unstable support that can crack or shift.
DCorrect: Supported scaffold legs must bear on base plates and mud sills or another firm foundation, and adjustable screw jacks are the proper way to level on a slope.
Card 15
Laborers have stacked drywall 3 feet from an unguarded interior hoistway opening on the third floor of a building under construction. What minimum setback from the hoistway does OSHA require for stored material?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
ACorrect: Material stored inside a building under construction must be kept at least 6 feet from hoistways and inside floor openings.
BFour feet is not the storage setback; it is the general industry fall protection height and the trench depth that triggers egress.
CTen feet is the setback from an exterior wall that does not extend above the stored material.
DTwo feet is the setback for excavation spoil from a trench edge.
Talking point 05
After the fall: clearance and rescue
A harness only works if there is room below it. Add the free fall, the deceleration distance, harness stretch and the worker's height below the D-ring, then a safety margin. For a 6-foot shock-absorbing lanyard tied off at D-ring height, that sum comes to roughly 18 feet below the anchor. Manufacturers publish clearance charts for each lanyard and self-retracting lifeline, so check theirs.
Then plan the rescue. 29 CFR 1926.502(d)(20) requires prompt rescue of a fallen worker, or proof that workers can rescue themselves. Calling the fire department counts as a plan only if its crews can reach that height at that spot in time.
Gear gets inspected before each use (1926.502(d)(21)), and a system that has stopped a fall comes out of service until a competent person inspects it and finds it undamaged and fit for reuse (1926.502(d)(19)).