Posted On: June 18, 2008, 2:27 pm CDT

Posted By: Joshua Stockwell

A perfect example of regulators responding rather than innovating. The effect of this will be that fewer general contractors will install these systems, and subcontractors won't "buy" the liability. This means the worker will once again be left with a rule to use fall protection without an easy means of doing so. If the anchor was incorrectly installed, why would an engineer's approval help? Not following installation intructions will not be affected by the author of the instructions. If they want to cite the contractor for inadequate training, so be it, since it would seem that is the case (based on what I have read of the case). Will the media be as quick to pick up on a story about a worker falling in a situation where these anchors could have been? I doubt it or else there would be a lot of stories daily. No these will be classified as "employee misconduct", which isn't as glamorous as the relatively unheard of story of a failed fall protection anchor.