The general trigger is 15 ft
Steel erection has its own fall-protection rule. Under 29 CFR 1926.760(a)(1), each employee on a walking/working surface with an unprotected side or edge more than 15 ft (4.6 m) above a lower level must be protected by a guardrail, safety net, personal fall arrest, positioning device or fall restraint system.
The trap: the 6 ft trigger is Subpart M, and 1926.500(a)(2)(iii) says Subpart M's trigger does not apply to steel erection. There is no 10 ft trigger in Subpart R.
Worked example: a steel-erection worker who is neither a connector nor in a controlled decking zone is bolting 12 ft above the level below. 12 ft is not more than 15 ft, so 1926.760(a)(1) requires no fall protection.
Connectors: two stories or 30 ft, whichever is less
Connectors are covered by 1926.760(b). Under (b)(1) they must be protected from falls of more than two stories or 30 ft (9.1 m), whichever is less. They must also have completed connector training under 1926.761.
Reading it as whichever is greater is the opposite of the rule. Always compute both numbers and take the smaller:
- 16 ft floor-to-floor: two stories = 2 × 16 = 32 ft. 30 ft is less, so 30 ft governs.
- Using 32 ft skips the comparison; using 16 ft counts one story instead of two.
The 15 to 30 ft band for connectors
Being a connector does not lower the trigger: a connector at 12 ft needs no protection either. Over 15 ft and up to 30 ft, 1926.760(b)(3) says a connector must be provided with personal fall arrest, positioning device or fall restraint equipment and wear what is needed to tie off, or be given other (a)(1) protection.
So a trained connector at 22 ft gets tie-off equipment or other (a)(1) protection. The trap: saying nothing is needed until 30 ft ignores the equipment rule for this band.