In the future, guardrails could become the fall protection system of choice for residential roofing contractors. The enforcement date has arrived for residential contractors to comply with OSHA’s STD 03-11-002. This directive, which went into effect March 15, cancelled the previous guideline, which had been in effect since 1999. It contains new and somewhat controversial residential fall protection guidelines for every contractor engaged in residential construction. The directive requires that employers comply with 29 CFR, 1926.501(b)(13)…

As safety regs proliferate, so do product options. The days of laissez faire safety compliance on residential job sites are over. Last year’s OSHA rulings on residential fall protection put con- tractors on notice that noncompliance would no longer be tolerated. They also put safety manufacturers and distributors on notice too, to beef-up fall protection offerings. Here is how our selected suppliers are addressing these issues and opportunities.