Fall Protection Awareness Week(s) starts at JBER

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Javier Alvarez
  • JBER Public Affairs
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF RICHARDSON, Alaska --  The Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson Safety Office hosted fall-protection events on JBER as part of Fall Protection Awareness Week(s), May 2 to 13.

The purpose of the weeks-long campaign is to educate and raise awareness of fall hazards and prevent possible mishaps, said Staff Sgt. Johnathan Murphy, 673d Air Base Wing Safety Office occupational safety technician. 

Presenters provided hands-on and visual training on all points of fall protection during the two events held on base, Murphy said. The first was mandatory training for specific personnel, but anyone with base access was welcome to attend the second event in Hangar 1.

According to the Air Force Safety Center, from 2011 to 2015, falls were the cause of 6,724 Air Force injuries, resulting in 42,539 lost work days at a cost of $64.5 million.

A significant portion of the presentations focus on the ABCDs of fall protection, said Trace Savage, a fall protection manufacturer representative with 3M.

The "ABCD" is a mnemonic, Savage said, reminding people to use anchors and anchor points which can support the work load; body supports such as harnesses, to distribute fall forces over the upper thigh, pelvis, chest and shoulders; connectors like shock-absorbing lanyards or retracting lifelines which connect a worker's harness to the anchor point; and descent and rescue gear for injured or fallen workers to return to safety.

"There is an annual requirement for all individuals [who work in elevated locations above four feet] to be trained on aspects of fall protection," Murphy said. "[These presentations] are a great way to take the worker out of their work environment, and place them into a simulated fall scenario where they can actually see what is taking place, and experience what a fall may feel like. People are always told, 'this is what happens when you fall,' but they never actually get to feel the constraints of a harness in the operation of a trauma strap, like they'll see in the demonstration."

The JBER Safety Office has a very strong fall-protection program, he said.

"We can't quantify saves," Murphy said. "We can't say, we had zero falls because of this program. All we can say is we have a strong fall protection program ... I can't think of one time when we had an injury associated with the lack of fall protection."

JBER safety provides annual and spot inspections on fall protections programs throughout the calendar year to ensure compliance with Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations and Air Force Instruction, he said.

For additional information, contact the JBER Safety Office at 552-6850.