Minnesota adopts rule for walking-working surfaces, fall protection

Minnesota has adopted the final rule from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration about walking-working surfaces and personal fall-protection systems “to better protect workers in general industry,” the Minnesota department of Labor and Industry said Friday.

The rule updates standards and adds training and inspection requirements, and incorporates advances in technology, industry best practices and national consensus standards. It updates general industry standards addressing slip, trip and fall hazards and adds requirements for personal fall-protection systems, the department said in a statement. 

The rule applies to workers in the retail and warehouse sectors but does not change construction or agricultural standards. 

“The rule benefits employers by providing greater flexibility in choosing a fall-protection system. For example, it eliminates the existing mandate to use guardrails as a primary fall-protection method and allows employers to choose from accepted fall-protection systems they believe will work best in a particular situation. … In addition, employers will be able to use nonconventional fall protection in certain situations, such as designated areas on low-slope roofs,” according to the statement.