FactSheet

OSHA’s Final Rule to Update, Align, and Provide 

Greater Flexibility in its General Industry WalkingWorking Surfaces and Fall Protection Standards

Background

Falls from heights and on the same level (a 

working surface) are among the leading causes 

of serious work-related injuries and deaths. 

OSHA estimates that, on average, approximately 

202,066 serious (lost-workday) injuries and 345 

fatalities occur annually among workers directly 

affected by the final standard. OSHA’s final rule 

on Walking-Working Surfaces and Personal Fall 

Protection Systems better protects workers in 

general industry from these hazards by updating 

and clarifying standards and adding training 

and inspection requirements. The rule affects a 

wide range of workers, from window washers to 

chimney sweeps. It does not change construction 

or agricultural standards.

The rule incorporates advances in technology, 

industry best practices, and national consensus 

standards to provide effective and cost-efficient 

worker protection. Specifically, the rule updates 

general industry standards addressing slip, trip, and 

fall hazards (subpart D), and adds requirements for 

personal fall protection systems (subpart I). 

OSHA estimates this rule will prevent 29 fatalities 

and 5,842 lost-workday injuries every year.

The rule benefits employers by providing greater 

flexibility in choosing a fall protection system. For 

example, it eliminates the existing mandate to use 

guardrails as a primary fall protection method and 

allows employers to choose from accepted fall 

protection systems they believe will work best in a 

particular situation — an approach that has been 

successful in the construction industry since 1994. 

In addition, employers will be able to use nonconventional fall protection in certain situations, 

such as designated areas on low-slope roofs. 

As much as possible, OSHA aligned fall 

protection requirements for general industry with 

those for construction, easing compliance for 

employers who perform both types of activities. 

For example, the final rule replaces the outdated 

general industry scaffold standards with a 

requirement that employers comply with OSHA’s 

construction scaffold standards.

The rule phases out a 1993 exception for 

the outdoor advertising industry that allows 

“qualified climbers” to forego fall protection. 

At least three workers have fallen from fixed 

ladders under this exception. One of them 

died. The final rule phases in the fixed ladder 

fall protection requirements for employers in 

outdoor advertising. 

Fall Protection Options

The rule requires employers to protect workers 

from fall hazards along unprotected sides or 

edges that are at least 4 feet above a lower 

level. It also sets requirements for fall protection 

in specific situations, such as hoist areas, 

runways, areas above dangerous equipment, 

wall openings, repair pits, stairways, scaffolds, 

and slaughtering platforms. And it establishes 

requirements for the performance, inspection, 

use, and maintenance of personal fall protection 

systems.

OSHA defines fall protection as “any equipment, 

device, or system that prevents a worker from 

falling from an elevation or mitigates the effect of 

such a fall.” Under the final rule, employers may 

choose from the following fall protection options: 

• Guardrail System – A barrier erected along an 

unprotected or exposed side, edge, or other 

area of a walking-working surface to prevent 

workers from falling to a lower level. 

• Safety Net System – A horizontal or semihorizontal, cantilever-style barrier that uses 

a netting system to stop falling workers 

before they make contact with a lower level 

or obstruction. 

• Personal Fall Arrest System – A system that 
arrests/stops a fall before the worker contacts 

a lower level. Consists of a body harness, 

anchorage, and connector, and may include 

a lanyard, deceleration device, lifeline, or a 

suitable combination. Like OSHA’s construction 

standards, the final rule prohibits the use of body 

belts as part of a personal fall arrest system.

• Positioning System – A system of equipment 

and connectors that, when used with a body 

harness or body belt, allows a worker to be 

supported on an elevated vertical surface, 

such as a wall or window sill, and work with 

both hands free. 

• Travel Restraint System – A combination of 

an anchorage, anchorage connector, lanyard 

(or other means of connection), and body 

support to eliminate the possibility of a worker 

going over the unprotected edge or side of a 

walking-working surface. 

• Ladder Safety System – A system attached to 

a fixed ladder designed to eliminate or reduce 

the possibility of a worker falling off the ladder. 

A ladder safety system usually consists of 

a carrier, safety sleeve, lanyard, connectors, 

and body harness. Cages and wells are not 

considered ladder safety systems.

Rope Descent Systems

The rule codifies a 1991 OSHA memorandum 

that permits employers to use Rope Descent 

Systems (RDS), which consist of a roof 

anchorage, support rope, descent device, 

carabiners or shackles, and a chair or seatboard. 

These systems are widely used throughout 

the country to perform elevated work, such as 

window washing.

The rule adds a 300-foot height limit for the use of 

RDS. It also requires building owners to affirm in 

writing that permanent building anchorages used 

for RDS have been tested, certified, and maintained 

as capable of supporting 5,000 pounds for each 

worker attached. This mirrors the requirement in 

OSHA’s Powered Platforms standard.

Ladder Safety Requirements

Falls from ladders account for 20 percent of all 

fatal and lost work-day injuries in general industry. 

The new rule includes requirements to protect 

workers from falling off fixed and portable ladders 

as well as mobile ladder stands and platforms. (The 

ladder requirements do not apply to ladders used 

in emergency operations or ladders that are an 

integral part of or designed into a machine or piece 

of equipment). 

In general, ladders must be capable of supporting 

their maximum intended load, while mobile 

ladder stands and platforms must be capable of 

supporting four times their maximum intended 

load. Each ladder must be inspected before initial 

use in a work shift to identify defects that could 

cause injury.

Fixed Ladders – Fixed ladders are permanently 

attached to a structure, building, or equipment. 

These include individual-rung ladders, but not 

ship stairs, step bolts, or manhole steps. The new 

rule phases in a requirement for employers to 

have ladder safety or personal fall arrest systems 

for fixed ladders that extend more than 24 feet, 

and phases out the use of cages or wells for fall 

protection under the following timeline: Starting in 

two years, all new fixed ladders and replacement 

ladder/ladder sections must have a ladder safety 

or personal fall protection system. For existing 

ladders, within two years, employers must install 

a cage, well, ladder safety system, or personal fall 

arrest system on fixed ladders that do not have 

any fall protection. Within 20 years, all ladders 

extending more than 24 feet must have a ladder 

safety or personal fall arrest system. 

Portable Ladders – Portable ladders usually consist 

of side rails joined at intervals by steps, rungs, 

or cleats. They can be self-supporting or lean 

against a supporting structure. The final rule will 

be easier for employers and workers to understand 

and follow because it uses flexible performancebased language instead of detailed specification 

and design requirements. Under the revisions, 

employers must ensure that: rungs and steps are 

slip resistant; portable ladders used on slippery 

surfaces are secured and stabilized; portable ladders 

are not moved, shifted, or extended while a worker 

is on them; top steps and caps of stepladders are 

not used as steps; ladders are not fastened together 

to provide added length unless designed for such 

use; and ladders are not placed on boxes, barrels, or 

other unstable bases to obtain added height.
Training Requirements

The rule adds a requirement that employers ensure 

workers who use personal fall protection and work 

in other specified high hazard situations are trained, 

and retrained as necessary, about fall and equipment 

hazards, including fall protection systems. A qualified 

person must train these workers to correctly: identify 

and minimize fall hazards; use personal fall protection 

systems and rope descent systems; and maintain, 

inspect, and store equipment or systems used for 

fall protection.

When there is a change in workplace operations or 

equipment, or the employer believes that a worker 

would benefit from additional training based on a 

lack of knowledge or skill, then the worker must be 

retrained. The training must be provided in a language 

and vocabulary that workers understand. 

Timeline

Most of the rule will become effective 60 days after it is 

published in the Federal Register, but some provisions 

have delayed effective dates, including: 

• Ensuring exposed workers are trained on fall hazards 

(6 months), 

• Ensuring workers who use equipment covered by 

the final rule are trained (6 months),

• Inspecting and certifying permanent anchorages for 

rope descent systems (1 year),

• Installing personal fall arrest or ladder safety 

systems on new fixed ladders over 24 feet and on 

replacement ladders/ladder sections, including fixed 

ladders on outdoor advertising structures (2 years),

• Ensuring existing fixed ladders over 24 feet, 

including those on outdoor advertising structures, 

are equipped with a cage, well, personal fall arrest 

system, or ladder safety system (2 years), and

• Replacing cages and wells (used as fall protection) 

with ladder safety or personal fall arrest systems on 

all fixed ladders over 24 feet (20 years).

Additional information

Additional information on OSHA’s rule on walkingworking surfaces and personal fall protection systems 

can be found at www.osha.gov/walking-workingsurfaces. OSHA can provide extensive help through 

a variety of programs, including technical assistance 

about effective safety and health programs, workplace 

consultations, and training and education.

For more information on other safety-related issues 

impacting workers, to report an emergency, fatality, 

inpatient hospitalization, or to file a confidential 

complaint, contact your nearest OSHA office, visit 

www.osha.gov, or call OSHA at 1-800-321-OSHA (6742), 

TTY 1-877-889-5627.

This is one in a series of informational fact sheets highlighting OSHA programs, policies or 

standards. It does not impose any new compliance requirements. For a comprehensive list of 

compliance requirements of OSHA standards or regulations, refer to Title 29 of the Code of Federal 

Regulations. This information will be made available to sensory-impaired individuals upon request. 

The voice phone is (202) 693-1999; teletypewriter (TTY) number: (877) 889-5627.

DSG FS-3903 11/2016