OSHA Laws require the following from building owners and employers:

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Building Owners:

• Provide evidence that they have contacted a qualified person to inspect, test, and certify RDS anchorages;

• Provide written evidence of an agreement with a qualified person to provide these services, such as an executed contract or letter of confirmation from the qualified person;

• Provide the Agency with written evidence of the anticipated dates of inspection, testing, or certification, as appropriate;

• Provide evidence that a diligent effort was made to complete RDS anchorage inspection, testing, and certification before work is to begin (for example, by contacting multiple services to determine their availability); and

• Inform employers who may use RDS that the anchorages have not been inspected, tested, and certified.

 

In cases where there is an agreement to provide the inspection services but the services have not yet been initiated or completed, CSHOs will review the agreement to determine whether the following key elements are present:

• A visual inspection of each anchorage;

• Testing of each anchorage to determine whether it is capable of supporting at least 5,000 pounds, in any direction, for each employee attached;

• Recommendations for and implementation of corrections or replacement of each defective or damaged RDS anchorage;

• Certification that each anchorage meets the requirements in §1910.27(b)(1)(i); and

• A date the contract work will be completed.

 

Employers
Additionally, employers performing work on buildings may be impacted where building owners experience difficulties in contracting for and completing inspection, testing, and certification of RDS anchorages. In such cases, CSHOs will evaluate the extent of an employer's efforts to comply, including use of other measures to perform work during the delay.

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In cases where RDS anchorages have not been inspected, tested, and certified, employers must still obtain information from building owners indicating those tasks have not been performed. Based on the information provided, the employer may choose to use alternative measures or decide not to proceed with work. If employers proceed with scheduled work, they may use alternative means for working at heights, such as, but not limited to, powered platforms, bucket trucks, cranes, and mobile/portable scaffolds. In these cases, CSHOs will evaluate compliance with requirements applicable to operations/equipment used.

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Where an employer demonstrates that all other means for safely performing the specific job tasks either are not feasible or would create a greater hazard, they may choose to perform the work using supplemental protective measures (e.g., energy absorbers to limit forces on the anchorages, or nets to provide additional fall protection) with limited use of RDS. For example, if an employer establishes that all other means of accessing heights are not feasible, and decides to use RDS with untested anchorages, the employer may provide nets as a supplemental means of fall protection. In addition, in these cases where the employer chooses limited use of RDS, it must ensure that a qualified person determines that the anchorage, in its current condition, is capable of safely supporting workers, using the following factors:

• A visual inspection of the anchorage, its environment, and supporting structure;

• Any known history of use of the anchorage, including whether the anchorage has previously been exposed to shock loads without retesting the anchorage;

• An evaluation of the strength of the anchorage, or a structure's substantial mass;

• Condition of the anchorage or structure and surrounding and supporting surfaces;

• Angle from the descent line to the anchorage or structure;

• Whether the descent line will be exposed to outside hazards such as moving machinery, sharp edges, and heat; and

• Permanence of the anchorage or structure, and surrounding and supporting surfaces.