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Article · the hierarchy

Four Methods, in Descending Order of How Well They Work

Fall protection is a hierarchy, not a shopping list. Eliminate the hazard, prevent the fall, restrain the worker, arrest the fall — and each step down is a step further from the ideal.

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Fall elimination is always the most effective method: the worker is never suspended above a surface, so they cannot fall.
Eliminate before you protect Passive before active Restraint before arrest Ten occupations at height
01 The hierarchy

Each Level Is a Fallback From the One Above

The four methods are not alternatives to choose between. They are ordered: you drop to the next only when the one above cannot be applied. The bar lengths below are that order — how much of the risk each level removes before the next one is needed.

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Passive — works without the worker doing anything Active — depends on the worker being attached
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02 Who works at height

Ten Occupations, Four Ways to Fall

Heights are among the most common causes of injury and fatality on job sites worldwide. The exposure is not confined to construction.

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03 What OSHA requires of employers

Four Employer Duties

Fall protection standards are defined and enforced by OSHA, a division of the US Department of Labor. Employers are responsible for knowing and enforcing them.

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Note the third duty: protective equipment is provided at no cost to the worker. Where the hazard can be engineered out instead, that cost disappears along with the dependency on the equipment being worn correctly.

05 Frequently asked

Questions on Fall Protection

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Climb the Hierarchy, Don't Descend It

If your current answer is arrest, there is usually a level above it available — a platform, a guardrail, or a way to do the work from the ground.

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Guardrail systems Engineered past the 200 lb minimum, not to it.
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