EM 385-1-1 Fall Protection Competent Person
The three-day competent person program for OSHA 29 CFR 1926.500 and EM 385-1-1: 16 hours of classroom and 8 hours on the fall protection simulators, for the people who will run a fall protection program and have authority to stop the work.
Who it is for and what it covers
A competent person is defined by OSHA as a designated person with sufficient experience and knowledge to recognize fall hazards, correct unsafe conditions and shut down the work site until hazards are corrected. This course goes past awareness into what it takes to build a program and a safe working environment for the people you are responsible for. Students inspect, install, assemble and use the equipment, estimate free fall distances and total clearance, and learn the common hazards of each system and component. The class is designed to meet ANSI Z359.2, Chapter 296-880 WAC and EM 385-1-1, which requires 24 hours of training including at least 8 hours hands-on.
Who should attend
- Safety managers and safety directors
- On-site managers, supervisors and section leads
- Anyone designated the on-site competent person for fall protection
This course meets
- EM 385-1-1 (USACE)
- 29 CFR 1926.500 Subpart M Fall Protection
- ANSI Z359.2
- Chapter 296-880 WAC Unified Safety Standards for Fall Protection
Certification
Competent Person Fall Protection certificate and wallet card valid two years, plus a free pair of trauma straps. Students must score 80% or better on the written and skills tests.
Bring your fall protection harness if you have one, gloves, boots, a shirt with sleeves, long pants, hard hat, safety vest, safety glasses and a laptop; a homework assignment is given.
Participants must be able to speak, read and write English proficiently to complete the class.
The Milton training center is close to hotels and amenities for out-of-town students.
Topics covered
- Fundamentals of fall protection and the hierarchy of controls
- Anchorage requirements and hardware compatibility
- Energy absorbing lanyards and self-retracting lifelines
- Vertical, horizontal and engineered horizontal lifelines
- Work positioning systems and conventional guarding systems
- Donning a full body harness
- Inspecting, installing and maintaining fall protection systems
- Calculating required clearances
- Fall protection plans and procedures
- Recognizing and identifying fall hazards
- OSHA regulations and ANSI standards affecting the industry
- Installation and use of trauma-strap hardware
- Arc flash fall protection awareness per NFPA 70E
Request this course
Tell us how many students and when you would like to train. We reply with the next open dates, group rates and on-site options. Fields marked * are required.
Training team
253.922.2787Weekdays 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM Pacific
Classes run at our Milton, WA center (60 students) and at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (30 students). Both have hands-on simulators: cellular tower, pole top rescue pole, communication hut and confined space vault.