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Training Directory

NYC DOB SITE SAFETY TRAINING

8-Hour Fall Prevention

The fall protection course every new NYC SST card requires. Online, self-paced, and built on DOB's course outline.

  • Online, self-paced
  • 8 hours
  • English
  • 8 hours of SST prescribed course credit
  • SST card included

Training Directory · NYC DOB provider ID SEED-DOB-0004

Course at a glance

Format
Online, self-paced
Length
8 hours of instruction (480 minutes)
Assessment
Knowledge checks after each module and a final exam. You need 70% to pass.
Credential
8 hours of SST credit and a certificate of completion. This is awareness-level training, not a license or a competent person designation.

What the 8-hour fall prevention course covers

8-Hour Fall Prevention is an NYC DOB Site Safety Training (SST) course. It covers how falls happen on construction sites, the rules that decide when fall protection is required, and the systems that protect you: guardrails, safety nets, controlled access zones, personal fall arrest, restraint and positioning. It follows DOB's course outline and draws on OSHA 29 CFR 1926 Subpart M and Chapter 33 of the NYC Building Code.

Falls to a lower level are the leading cause of death in construction. Local Law 196 of 2017 requires SST cards for construction and demolition workers and supervisors on sites that require a Site Safety Plan. 8-Hour Fall Prevention is a prescribed SST course, and it is part of every path to a new SST Worker card and a new SST Supervisor card.

You need this course if you are working toward a new SST card, or if you are renewing a Supervisor card under an option that includes it. If you have 30-Hour OSHA from the past 5 years, or 40-Hour Site Safety, you take this course with 2-Hour Mental Health Awareness to finish your 40 hours.

The course is online and self-paced, taken with a DOB-Registered Course Provider. It uses narrated slides, knowledge checks after each module, and a final exam. Seat time is tracked, so the course cannot be finished in less than 8 hours. You will be asked to verify your identity. This is awareness-level training. It gives you 8 hours of SST credit and a certificate of completion. It does not make you a competent person or authorize you to design or approve fall protection.

What you'll learn

Drawn from the training objectives in DOB's outline.

  • Name and recognize the three types of fall hazard: falls to a lower level, falls on the same level, and being struck by falling objects.
  • Know which height triggers fall protection for your work: 6 feet for most construction, 10 feet on a scaffold, 15 feet in steel erection.
  • Calculate fall distance, so you know whether a system will stop you before you hit something.
  • Pick the right protection for the task: guardrails, nets, fall arrest, restraint or positioning. Know why a guardrail is never an anchor.
  • Check a harness, lanyard, self-retracting lifeline and connectors, and spot the anchorages and hook connections that are not allowed.
  • Know what a rescue plan must cover before work at height starts, and why time matters once someone is hanging in a harness.

Course topics

Everything in DOB's outline for this course.

  1. Part 1 · Fall hazards and the rules

    • Fall fatality data and New York City case studies
    • The competent person: capability and authority
    • Three types of fall hazard and the trigger heights
    • Gravity, force and fall loads

  2. Part 2 · Edges, openings and access

    • Guardrails and NYC perimeter protection
    • Safety nets, controlled access zones, limited access zones and controlled decking zones
    • Holes, openings and covers
    • Stairs, ladders and breaks in elevation
    • Supported and suspended scaffolds, mobile scaffolds, scissor lifts and aerial lifts

  3. Part 3 · Personal fall protection

    • Personal fall arrest systems and their components
    • Self-retracting lifelines, fall restraint and positioning
    • Horizontal and vertical lifelines
    • Calculating fall distance and choosing an anchorage
    • Prompt rescue planning

  4. Part 4 · Struck-by, checklists and decisions

    • Falling objects: toeboards, storage setbacks, head protection and sidewalk sheds
    • Safety monitoring systems and unguarded machinery
    • A 20-point fall protection checklist: compliant and non-compliant conditions
    • Tabletop scenarios and video and image demonstrations of fall protection equipment
    • Worker rights and how to report a fall hazard

Credit & certificate

SST card included

Prescribed course

  • Counts as 8 hours toward a new SST Worker card, under Option 1 or Option 2.
  • Counts as 8 hours toward a new SST Supervisor card.
  • With 2-Hour Mental Health Awareness, completes the 10 hours needed for a Worker card if you have 30-Hour OSHA from the past 5 years or 40-Hour Site Safety.
  • Counts as 8 hours toward SST Supervisor card renewal, Option 1 or Option 2.
  • A new card requires this 8-hour course. 4-Hour Fall Prevention does not replace it.

8 hours of SST credit and a certificate of completion. This is awareness-level training, not a license or a competent person designation.

Who it's for

  • Construction and demolition workers getting a new SST Worker card.
  • Workers with 30-Hour OSHA in the past 5 years, or 40-Hour Site Safety, who need 10 more hours for an SST Worker card.
  • Supervisors and competent persons getting a new SST Supervisor card.
  • Supervisor card holders renewing under Option 1 or Option 2.

Included in these packages

Take this course on its own, or as part of a package.

Before you buy

Format and schedule
Online and self-paced. Start any time after purchase; no class dates or location.
Certificate and credential
When you finish, Training Directory issues a course certificate.
Identity verification
No identity verification or proctoring is required for this course.

Questions

Do I need this course for a new SST card?

Yes. Every path to a new SST Worker card or Supervisor card includes 8-Hour Fall Prevention. The 4-hour version is for renewals only.

I already have 30-Hour OSHA. What else do I need?

If your 30-Hour OSHA is from the past 5 years, or you have 40-Hour Site Safety, you need 10 more hours for a Worker card: this course and 2-Hour Mental Health Awareness.

Can I take it online?

Yes. The course is online and self-paced, taken with a DOB-Registered Course Provider. Seat time is tracked, so you cannot finish in less than 8 hours of instruction.

Does the course include hands-on practice with equipment?

DOB's outline includes wearing fall protection equipment. Online, this is shown through video and image demonstrations of putting on, connecting, inspecting and storing a harness and lanyard. It is not hands-on practice, so get trained on the specific equipment you will use before you use it on the job.

Will finishing this course make me a competent person?

No. This is awareness-level training. A competent person must be able to identify hazards and have the authority to correct them, and that designation comes from the employer, not from a course.

How is the course graded?

There are knowledge checks after each module and a final exam. You need 70% on the final to pass. Many questions describe a task and ask you to apply the rules, including fall distance.

Can I use this course to renew my SST card?

Yes, for a Supervisor card under renewal Option 1 or Option 2. Worker card renewals use 4-Hour Fall Prevention instead. Finish refresher training before your card expires.

Who issues my SST card?

SST cards are issued by DOB-Registered Course Providers authorized to issue them, once you have all the required hours. Cards are valid for 5 years.

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Ready to start?

Start as soon as your order is confirmed, and work at your own pace.

$250.00