HOLES AND OPENINGS IN WORKING \ WALKING SURFACES
HAZARD
Holes and floor openings found on project sites or in customer facilities are Fall Hazards. Injuries that result from falling through holes and openings can be minor, but more serious injuries and even fatalities occur when a person falls through these holes and openings landing on lower levels!
- Injuries can include contusions, broken bones, lacerations and abrasions because the victim strikes the edge of the hole / opening or their body comes in contact with other obstructions before impacting a lower level.
- Tools or material the person is carrying can also lead to additional “struck-by” injuries.
- For holes and openings that measure greater than 2 inches in diameter, there is also the risk of nails, bolts, or tools falling through the hole / opening, striking people located on lower levels below.
Actual project site violations:
PREVENTATIVE MEASURES
Hole Covers:
Any opening through a floor greater than 2 inches, measured at its least point, must be covered, secured and labeled. Coverings will support at least twice the weight of employees, equipment, and materials that may be imposed on the cover at any one time. To prevent accidental displacement resulting from wind, equipment, or workers’ activities, all covers will be secured and be color-coded or bear the markings “HOLE” or “COVER.”
Remember: “2 inches; twice the weight”.
VSC employees working on construction projects must report missing, damaged, or unsecured hole covers to the supervisor and general contractor and implement a personal fall arrest system before proceeding with work. All workers within the hole opening must be warned of the hazard. When a personal fall protection system is not feasible (i.e. no anchorage points), and no responsible contractor or owner is on site, then VSC employees trained in constructing and securing a hole cover may correct the hazard however, Temporary fall protection, to protect the employee while working on a hole cover, must be in place when undertaking the repair or replacement of a hole opening when a fall hazard is present.
Object on top of hole covers:
- Avoid operating any equipment, placing material, or setting up a ladder on top of hole covers.
- When job tasks require operating any mechanical equipment, such as scissor lifts, or placing a ladder on top of a hole cover, the supervisor must verify and document with the host contractor or customer the load capacity of the hole cover.
- Do not proceed if the load capacity of a hole cover cannot be determined.