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Billboard and Outdoor Sign Fall Protection

Whether you own a single installation or operate a network of billboards, OSHA regulations require fall protection systems to ensure the safety of your personnel. The implementation of a comprehensive fall prevention strategy, which includes the proper mix of fall protection equipment, personnel training, and partnering with a fall protection company that appreciates the unique nature of your billboard’s access points and potential fall hazards, will ensure worker safety and OSHA compliance.

Slippery footing during rain and snow showers and high winds expose your personnel to significant fall hazards during routine maintenance, but we can help. Whether your billboards require ladder lifelines and cages or rigid rail and horizontal lifeline coverage for the platform areas, our engineered approach to remediating fall hazards will keep your personnel safe while working at heights.

We are a complete turnkey provider of fall protection systems designed for the billboards and outdoor sign advertising industry and have the years of design and installation experience in the outdoor advertising sector. Contact us for expert assistance with your fall arrest, fall restraint and fall protection requirements.

Fall Protection Solutions

Design Considerations

Billboards and Outdoor Sign Advertising Fall Protection Design Considerations

Billboard maintenance often requires overhead work done from narrow, elevated platforms. In addition, because this work is done outside, workers are subjected to gusts of wind, and slippery footing caused by rain, ice, and snow. The height of the work platform on a billboard can range from ten feet or less to heights in excess of 50 feet. Because the horizontal lifelines used in billboard applications are typically installed at foot level, care must be taken to specify the proper personal protective equipment to arrest a potential fall before the worker strikes the ground below.

OSHA Regulations


  • Horizontal Lifelines
    • 1926.502(d)(8)
      Horizontal lifelines shall be designed, installed, and used, under the supervision of a qualified person, as part of a complete personal fall arrest system, which maintains a safety factor of at least two.
  • Personal Fall Arrest Systems
    • 1926.502(d)(16)
      Personal fall arrest systems, when stopping a fall, shall:
    • 1926.502(d)(16)(ii)
      limit maximum arresting force on an employee to 1,800 pounds (8 kN) when used with a body harness;
    • 1926.502(d)(16)(iii)
      be rigged such that an employee can neither free fall more than 6 feet (1.8 m), nor contact any lower level;
    • 1926.502(d)(16)(iv)
      bring an employee to a complete stop and limit maximum deceleration distance an employee travels to 3.5 feet (1.07 m); and,
    • 1926.502(d)(16)(v)
      have sufficient strength to withstand twice the potential impact energy of an employee free falling a distance of 6 feet (1.8 m), or the free fall distance permitted by the system, whichever is less.

Talk to a fall protection specialist

Tell us about your fall protection needs, and we’ll configure a system that rises to your challenges.