Parting Shots

A good headline and photo draw in the reader's interest, but in reality, this is a very scary photo. This news item on the home page of MSN.com caught the attention of Steven Spradlin, President of Capital Structures in Fort Smith, AR. Most notably, this is a great real-world jobsite example of framer engineering that doesn't comply with construction site safety requirements. To put it in Spradlin's words, “Holy crap, someone call OSHA!” (This is what he wrote, so it’s probably a paraphrase of what he actually said.)

This photo illustrates a key reason for all CMs to educate their local markets on the challenge of implementing a rational fall protection program on a stick-built site. Photos like this are great talking points, particularly if CMs talk to their local OSHA office. Discussions about examples like this can help level the playing field between conventional and component construction.

SBCA has created a Step-By-Step Process for Fall Protection & Trusses, which includes a customizable template for the structural building components industry and outlines the specific steps to properly erect a truss system. Chapter 11 of the BCSI book and the B11 Summary Sheet also provide guidance to framing crews on how to assess fall hazards while installing trusses on residential construction jobsites. For more information, visit sbcindustry.com/fp and sbcindustry.com/bcsi.php.