Long Island ASSP November Technical Meeting

Title : Updated ANSI Z359 Fall Protection Standards: What You Need to Know Before Buying Equipment

Location: Zoom –
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82160135709?pwd=dqSQBZmy4eu67b4sWEkFv1G2qwU5U1.1

Presenter: Thomas E. Kramer

Speaker Bio:

ASSP Vice President of Finance Thomas E. Kramer, P.E., CSP, is a subject matter expert on working at height for LJB Inc. He served as a director-at-large on the ASSP Board of Directors from 2019-22 before rejoining the board on July 1, 2023, in his current three-year role. He has been an ASSP member since 2000.

In addition to being the ASSP’s vice president of finance, Kramer serves in the same capacity for the ASSP Foundation, the Society’s charitable arm, in his dual leadership role.

Kramer was ASSP’s Safety Professional of the Year in 2016 and is a two-time recipient of the Charles V. Culbertson Outstanding Volunteer Service Award. He earned the Thomas F. Bresnahan Standards Medal in 2017 for his extensive work in developing and advocating voluntary consensus standards. He has also earned the ASSP
President’s Award, chaired the Society’s Professional Development Conference Planning Committee and served as vice president of the Council on Professional
Development.

Kramer works to improve safety and reduce risks for workers at height. He has 30 years of experience in assessing, designing and installing fall protection systems, and he specializes in fall protection program development.

Kramer is the past chair of the ANSI/ASSP Z359 Fall Protection Committee. He is a member of the ANSI/ASSP Z590.3 Prevention Through Design Committee, the
ANSI/ALI A14 Ladder Standards Committee, and an alternate on the ANSI/ASSP A10 Construction and Demolition Committee.

Outside of ASSP, Kramer is president of the International Society for Fall Protection and has planned symposiums on three continents and presented in more than a dozen countries. He holds an MBA from Miami University in Ohio and a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and master’s degree in engineering from the University of Cincinnati.
He resides in Springboro, OH, with his wife, Tracey.

Presentation Summary:

The landscape of the fall protection industry is continuously advancing and changing, with the recent OSHA Falls National Emphasis Program as a notable item. Additionally, the ANSI/ASSP Z359 standards—or Fall Protection Code—are working to keep up with the evolving technologies and practices to meet your needs. Attendees will learn how recent and forthcoming changes to the standards impact key aspects of their organization’s fall protection program and allow you to best prepare for internal or OSHA related inspections.

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, energy absorbing lanyards and managed fall protection programs. With this information, safety professionals can determine cost effective strategies for applying the new information to reduce risk for workers at heights.

Learning Outcomes:

• Identify the different Z359 standards, and the focus and goals of each
• Discuss the key components of new ANSI standards and how they impact buying
  decisions
• State ways your organization can apply ANSI standards to decrease risk for
  workers at height

0.1 CEUs available!