(Source: Federal Railroad Administration press release, December 2, 2011)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has issued a Safety Advisory to remind railroads, contractors and railroad bridge workers of safety practices intended to prevent accidents and casualties to employees.
FRA regulations require standards related to scaffolding and for railroads and railroad contractors to provide, and employees to use, fall protection and personal protective equipment, including head, foot, eye, and face equipment for employees as they work on railroad bridges.
The Safety Advisory focuses attention on the unsafe workplace behavior preliminarily found to be contributing factors in two incidents occurring this year during which workers fell from bridges, resulting in one fatality. In 2008, another worker fell under similar circumstances. In each of these three incidents, the bridge worker was not using a personal fall arrest system and fell when stepping on an unsecured walkway or platform grating. The responsible railroads, contractors, and subcontractors had also not erected a safety net system.
The Safety Advisory is available here.
The Bridge Worker Safety Compliance Manual is available here (PDF).