FRA issues safety advisory for bridge workers and final rule on roadway worker protection

The Federal Railroad Administration 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 at http://www.fra.dot.gov/rrs/pages/fp_350.shtml and the Bridge Worker Safety Compliance Manual is available at http://www.fra.dot.gov/downloads/safety/bws_compliance_manual_110806_final.pdf . The FRA also issued a final rule that will help protect railroad construction workers from passing trains. The rule amends existing Roadway Worker Protection regulations to require that railroads adopt safety procedures to protect workers from the movement of trains or other rail equipment from nearby adjacent tracks. The new safety procedures generally require all affected work and equipment movements to stop and for each roadway worker to occupy a predetermined safe place upon receiving a notification or warning when there is an approaching train or other on-track equipment movement on an adjacent track. Track safety job briefings will be expanded to include information about the new rule. The final rule is available at http://www.fra.dot.gov/rcc/downloads/RWP_Adjacent_Track_Final_Rule_11-30-11.pdf.