The general trigger: more than 15 ft
Under 29 CFR 1926.760(a)(1), a steel erector on a walking/working surface with an unprotected side or edge more than 15 ft above a lower level must be protected by one of five systems:
- Guardrail system
- Safety net system
- Personal fall arrest system
- Positioning device system
- Fall restraint system
A warning line system is not on the list.
The rule covers every erector; connectors and controlled decking zone workers are the exception. An ironworker who is neither, welding at an 18 ft edge, needs one of the five because 18 ft exceeds 15 ft. The 30 ft and two-story figures belong to connectors and the CDZ, not other erectors.
Connectors: two stories or 30 ft, whichever is less
Under 1926.760(b)(1), connectors must be protected from falls of more than two stories or 30 ft, whichever is less.
- 13 ft floor-to-floor: two stories = 2 × 13 = 26 ft. 26 ft is less than 30 ft, so 26 ft governs.
- Using 30 ft ignores "whichever is less"; 39 ft is three stories.
Controlled decking zone height
Under 1926.760(c), a CDZ may replace conventional fall protection only where metal decking is initially being installed over 15 ft and up to 30 ft above a lower level. At 34 ft, conventional fall protection is required. The size and area limits below never stretch the height range.
CDZ size and unsecured decking
- Size, 1926.760(c)(3): not more than 90 ft wide and 90 ft deep from any leading edge. Each dimension is limited separately, so 100 ft wide by 80 ft deep fails; comparing 8,000 to 8,100 sq ft is the wrong test.
- Unsecured decking, 1926.760(c)(5): not more than 3,000 sq ft. With 3,400 sq ft unsecured, secure 3,400 − 3,000 = 400 sq ft. Being inside 90 ft by 90 ft does not excuse the separate 3,000 sq ft cap.
Traps: 4,000 lb is the decking bundle limit, and 60 ft is a joist span threshold in 1926.757; neither is a CDZ figure.