AZASSP Technical Meeting FY27-07

Title: Beyond Compliance: Using ANSI/ASSP Z359 to Build a Comprehensive Fall Protection Program

Instructor: Thomas Kramer, PE, CSP, Chair – ANSI/ASSP Z359 Fall Protection Committee

Description: Falls remain a leading cause of on-the-job injuries and fatalities, and the landscape of the fall protection industry is continuously advancing and changing. The ANSI/ASSP Z359 standards—or Fall Protection Code—provides an overall blueprint to help prevent injuries that result when workers fall from heights. Attendees will learn how recent and forthcoming changes to the standards impact key aspects of their organization’s fall protection program. The presenter will explain how the standards interrelate and provide insight on recently and soon-to-be released standards, including new updates related to full-body harnesses, self-retracting devices and more. With this information, safety professionals can determine the best strategy for applying the new information to reduce risk for work at heights.

Learning Objectives:

1. Explain how pending, new, and revised Z359 standards impact a fall protection program.
2. Identify how to use these standards to improve a fall protection program and how the Z359 Fall Protection Code can assist in this process.
3. Present examples of how the Z359 Standards are used by various organizations to improve safety and reduce risk for work at height.

Bio:

Thomas E. “Thom” Kramer, P.E., CSP – Senior Safety Consultant, LJB Engineering, is

a safety consultant and structural engineer with more than 30 years of experience. He is an internationally recognized expert in applying engineering and safety practices to reduce risk for workers at heights. As a dually registered professional engineer and certified safety professional, he specializes in the assessment and design of fall protection systems, as well as fall protection program development and training. Thom is the former Chair of the ANSI/ASSP Z359 Full Committee and previously chaired three subcommittees (ANSI Z359.1, .6 and .17). He also serves as the Senior Vice President of ASSP, the current Chair of the ANSI Z359 National Work at Height Task Force, and as the President of the International Society for Fall Protection. He is widely considered as a thought leader in the fall protection and work at height industry, having given more than 300 technical sessions and workshops on the topic. His extensive work developing and advancing voluntary consensus standards earned him ASSP’s Thomas F. Bresnahan Standards Medal, and he was named ASSP Safety Professional of the Year in 2016.