Requirements Capture and Task Analysis of Fall Protection for Residential Construction

摘要

Falls have been a major safety hazard in the construction industry, accounting for 34.6% of all fatalities among construction workers in 2010. OSHA directive 1926.501(b)(13) was enacted on September 16, 2011 requiring residential construction employers to implement the use of fall protection on all work above a height of six feet. However, this requirement appears to face resistance due to such problems as lack of usability of fall arrest systems. The objective of this study was to develop experimental scenarios for evaluating a fall arrest system based on requirements analysis for usability testing and work system task analysis in the context of working from heights. Interviews were conducted with 82 construction workers from 18 residential and post-frame companies to gain an understanding of perceptions and usability of fall arrest systems. Task analysis of a typical roofing task was conducted to acquire the work processes and behaviors during the interaction with fall arrest system use. The paper delineates the development of user requirements on fall protection and critical task sequences. The analytical methods and development process led to support a usability test for a revised fall arrest system. A theoretic task analysis was proposed for use in scaled-world laboratory testing.