Construction and trades: fall protection basics (US OSHA)
For construction workers, apprentices and trades staff who work on US construction sites near edges, holes, roofs or ladders. No prerequisites. Covers when 29 CFR 1926 Subpart M requires fall protection, what guardrails, hole covers and personal fall arrest systems must meet, ladder rules from 1926.1053, and what training records show. Jurisdiction: US federal OSHA construction standards; state-plan states and your site may have stricter rules. This is awareness training only: it does not make you a competent person or a qualified person, does not qualify you to design, install or approve fall protection systems, and is not legal advice.
- Level
- Beginner
- Length
- About 75 minutes
- Contents
- 4 lessons · final exam
- Status
- Published · updated 10 Oct 2026
Skills you'll practise
- Identify unprotected sides, edges, holes and openings that trigger fall protection at 6 feet on a construction site
- Check a guardrail and a hole cover against the Subpart M criteria, calculate the load the cover must support, and record what fails
- Perform and describe a pre-use check of a harness and lanyard, and remove equipment that has arrested a fall
- Set up and use a portable ladder to 1926.1053 and recognise when to stop and call the competent person
Course outline
- 1.Where Subpart M appliesLesson · 14 min
- 2.Guardrails, hole covers and the load a cover must supportLesson · 14 min
- 3.Personal fall arrest systemsLesson · 16 min
- 4.Setting up and using a portable ladder, training, and when to stopLesson · 14 min
- 5.Construction and trades: fall protection basics (US OSHA): knowledge checkKnowledge check · 15 questions
- 6.Construction and trades: fall protection basics (US OSHA): practical exerciseKnowledge check · 1 question
- 7.Final exam8 questions · passing it completes the course, so people who already know the material can test out
Sources it draws on
The lessons and questions are written from these references, so learners can go back to the original.
- OSHA: Fall Protection overview (trigger heights by industry, employer duties)
- OSHA 29 CFR 1926.500: Scope, application and definitions (Subpart M)
- OSHA 29 CFR 1926.501: Duty to have fall protection
- OSHA 29 CFR 1926.502: Fall protection systems criteria and practices
- OSHA 29 CFR 1926.503: Training requirements
- OSHA 29 CFR 1926.1053: Ladders
- OSHA 29 CFR 1926.1051: General requirements (stairways and ladders)
- OSHA 29 CFR 1926.32: Definitions (competent person, qualified)
See it with your own jobs and topics
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