Fatal Orchestra Pit Fall

[BillConnerFASTC]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but OSHA does not have enforcement authority over state government employees. In those cases, state regs would apply.

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Not sure it's quite that simple. See OSHA Coverage of State and Local Government Workers for some variations on this. States may have their own regs that comply with OSHA - are deemed by OSHA equivalent - and they may cover their own employees....or not.

Good question - would be useful if someone that understood the ins and outs of this could summarize. I'm a little hard pressed to believe that there is no statute requiring state employees to be kept safe in the workplace.

 

[BillConnerFASTC]

Here's a better explanation from an OSHA brochure, OSHA3021-09R 2011:

State and Local Government Workers
Employees who work for state and local governments are not covered by Federal OSHA, but have OSH Act protections if they work in those states that have an OSHA-approved state plan. The following 22 states or territories have OSHA approved programs:
Alaska
Arizona
California
Hawaii
Indiana
Iowa
Kentucky
Maryland
Michigan
Minnesota
Nevada
New Mexico
North Carolina
Oregon
South Carolina
Tennessee
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
Wyoming
Puerto Rico

Four additional states and one U.S. territory have OSHA-approved plans that cover public sector employees only:
Connecticut
Illinois
New Jersey
New York
Virgin Islands

Private sector workers in these four states and the Virgin Islands are covered by Federal OSHA.

 

[gafftaper]

Unless your pit is REALLY deep harnesses for fall arrest will be useless. Lanyards take around 15 feet to slow you down, add the length of your body and they are pretty useless in most situations under 20 feet. Contact a professional to properly evaluate your needs and see if there's a possible solution, but it's unlikely.

You could use a work positioning technique (wear a harness and hook into a point that prevents you from getting close enough to fall in the first place). But this is going to severely limit your ability to work.

Personally, I think the idea of a platform, or maybe a scaffold under you is worth looking at. Scaffolds are useful in so many ways in a theater seems like there could be a good solution there for you.

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[DuckJordan]

Actually it depends on the lanyard. My double lanyard is 6 foot with a 3 foot fall extention.