ANSI/ISEA updates voluntary standard on preventing dropped objects

Arlington, VA — Recent changes to an American National Standards Institute/International Safety Equipment Association consensus standard are intended to enhance worker and facility protections from dropped objects on jobsites.

ANSI/ISEA 121-2023 – Dropped Object Prevention Solutions sets minimum design, performance, testing and labeling/markings requirements for preventive measures related to incidents of dropped objects, an ISEA press release states. An abstract to the standard states that falling objects lead to hundreds of worker deaths and tens of thousands of injuries annually.

The standard emphasizes active solutions, such as tying off objects or containing them at height, rather than focusing on passive strategies or simply using personal protective equipment. The standard includes clear guidance to minimize the risk of incidents of dropped objects while addressing four types of active-control equipment:
Anchor attachments: designed to be installed on structures, equipment or workers to provide appropriate connection points for tethering
Tool attachments: designed to be installed onto tools or equipment to provide appropriate connection points for tethering
Tool tethers: lanyards or materials designed to connect tools to approved anchor points
Containers: items such as buckets, pouches and bags designed to transport tools and equipment to and from height

“Far more industries face risks from falling objects than they do from human falls,” Nate Bohmbach, senior director of product management at Ergodyne and leader of ISEA’s Dropped Objects Prevention Group, said in the release. “Safety at height means not only securing anyone working above but ensuring nothing on them or around them can detach and drop on anyone – or on any machinery or building surfaces – below.”