The
title of today’s posting may conjure an image of folks standing
shoulder-to-shoulder on top of a structure yelling out warnings to team members
below, so we thought it would be beneficial to review what a warning line
actually is and what the guidelines are when used as fall protection.

The
warning line is a rope, wire, or chain, along with supporting stanchions that
is erected around all sides of the work area. OSHA imposes certain requirements
when the warning line is used as fall protection for roofing activities on
low-slope roofs with unprotected sides, including:

• The
  rope, wire, or chain shall be rigged and supported in such a way that its
  lowest point (including sag) is no less than 34” from the walking/working
  surface and its highest point is no more than 39” from that same surface.
• The
  line, attached at each stanchion, must be capable of resisting the force of at
  least 16 pounds without tipping over and have a minimum tensile strength of 500
  pounds.
• The
  line must be erected in such a way that pulling on one section will not result
  in slack being taken up in adjacent sections before the stanchion tips over.
• The
  rope, wire, or chain shall be flagged at no more than 6-foot intervals with
  high-visibility material
• When mechanical equipment is not
  being used, the warning line shall be erected not less than 6 feet from the
  roof edge.
• When mechanical equipment is being
  used, the warning line shall be erected not less than 10 feet from the roof
  edge.
• Points of access, materials
  handling areas, storage areas, and hoisting areas shall be connected to the
  work area by an access path formed by two warning lines.
• When the path to a point of access
  is not in use, a barricade equivalent in strength and height to the warning
  line shall be placed across the path or the path shall be offset such that a
  person cannot walk directly into the work area.
• No employee shall be allowed in
  the area between the roof edge and the warning line unless protected by the use
  of a personal fall arrest system.