A Memorable Lesson in Fall Protection: A Personal Experience – 7/7/25
Safety E-Quick Tip
OWYN Safety Management Platform
A Memorable Lesson in Fall Protection: A Personal Experience
Well, here’s the third memorable experience, and not letting the employer or the authority in charge get all the credit for most memorable experiences, here’s one for the employees.
If you’ve been reading our Safety E-Quick Tips over the years, you may remember this one. Years ago, I was doing some safety training for a roofers’ union. The program was mandatory and put on by the union during the winter to help ensure their members were up to date on current OSHA safety requirements for the upcoming year. The course was about 8 hours long with lunch, and we covered safety topics specifically for roofers.
Although there were several safety topics discussed, the one that sparked the most and deepest conversations was fall protection. I had done this program with this union before, so I was well prepared for a lot of pushback regarding fall protection but today would be a little different.
All these roofers had been through this training for years, so they were ready to voice their opinions.
Several members had already given their thoughts on the requirements. Some objected to the need for fall protection, others stated that people just need to use common sense, while others pointed out that fall protection requirements created other hazards that made it difficult for them to get their work done.
I was ready for all of these.
Then one member went off on a rant, naming every reason possible for why fall protection was not necessary. He went on and on for what felt like forever. When I tried to answer one of his concerns, he immediately made it clear that I was interrupting him, and I could talk when he was done. So, I waited and listened.
When he finally ran out of gas, I proceeded to respond to each of his concerns.
When discussing each, I stayed away from just talking about the value of fall protection. I discussed different situations where employees of some of our clients had been injured from fall incidents.
That took about another 15-20 minutes because with each incident I discussed, he provided a reason how each incident could have been avoided without fall protection.
“This one could have prevented the hazard by just using a little common sense.” “This one should have been paying closer attention to their surroundings.” “That guy could have done it a different way.” And it went on. My response each time was, “but with proper fall protection in place, those incidents could have been prevented even if the individual was not using common sense or paying closer attention to their surroundings.” He even had a response to two incidents I discussed that led to fatalities.
After all this, someone else decided to say something. So, I braced myself, but I couldn’t believe what I was about to hear. “Hey Joe, why don’t you tell him why you are on crutches and may not be able to work until later this year?” And laughter broke out.
Then it came out that he had fallen off a 20’ high building’s flat roof, broken his leg in multiple locations, and had a rod holding it together – and there was no fall protection in place at the time. I didn’t see that one coming, but my final remark was simple, “Proper fall protection would have prevented that.”
I’m hoping you can see why this is so memorable. This took place over 20 years ago, but it seems like yesterday. As you can see, safety in the workplace is often taken for granted. It’s just common sense; it’s a paper trail, and yes, it’s even “I’ve done it this way for years and nothing has ever happened.”
We can change that. But we have to do it – together!
Employee QuickTip
Remember the roofer who insisted that fall protection wasn’t necessary until he showed up on crutches? Even after the fact, he didn’t recognize how his injury could have been avoided with proper fall protection; don’t let that be you.
Employer/Management QuickTip
A workplace culture that prioritizes safety is essential to preventing injuries; the roofer who insisted that fall protection wasn’t necessary even after he showed up with crutches is a perfect example of why this is so important.
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Stay Safe – You’ve Got This!
Your OWYN Safety Solution Team
