A plumber is working near the unprotected edge of a flat commercial roof 22 feet above grade, setting vent terminals and flashings. Under the federal construction standard governing fall protection, what applies to that work?
- ANothing applies provided the worker stays more than 15 feet back from the edge and a monitor is posted
Distance from the edge does not by itself remove the requirement, and a safety monitoring system is a limited option with conditions attached rather than a general substitute for fall protection.
- BFall protection becomes required at 25 feet above a lower level in construction work, so nothing applies here
Twenty-five feet is not the construction trigger. General industry and construction use different heights for several requirements, and mixing them up is the usual source of this number.
- Fall protection is required, since the trigger for unprotected sides and edges is 6 feet above a lower level
- DA personal fall arrest system is required only where the task takes the worker within 3 feet of the edge
No three-foot rule of that kind appears in the standard. How close a worker gets to the edge affects which protective method is practical, not whether protection is required in the first place.
Why C is correct
The construction standard requires protection from falls at unprotected sides and edges 6 feet or more above a lower level. At 22 feet that is met many times over, and the employer has to provide guardrails, a personal fall arrest system or a safety net before the work begins.
What this question is testing
This checks whether you know the height at which fall protection is triggered in construction work and can reject the plausible alternative heights and proximity rules that get quoted on job sites.
On the job
Plumbers spend more time on roofs than they expect: vent terminals, roof drains, rooftop unit gas connections and condensate lines all live up there. The work is usually short, which is exactly why crews skip the harness, and short duration is not an exemption. On a re-roof or an addition the roof edge often has no parapet at all, which is the condition the standard is written for.
Memory technique
Six feet in construction: a roof edge is a roof edge whatever the task.
Exam tip
Six feet in construction. If an option offers a higher trigger or a distance from the edge, it is the distractor.
Where to look it up
Fall protection duties for construction work are in 29 CFR 1926 Subpart M, with the trigger heights in the duty to have fall protection section.