A Tip of the Cap to the Standard Set by OSHA: Rebar Covers Keep Workers Safe

To address the danger of protruding rebar and to comply with the Standard set by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), rebar covers also called rebar caps, have become commonplace on modern construction sites.

OSHA rebar covers

The risk of employees or innocent passers-by being impaled by rebar is very real. As such, anyone working around it should makes themselves aware of the hazard and take the necessary precautions.

In accordance with the Standard set by OSHA, rebar covers (rebar caps) should be used so that bars are guarded to eliminate the hazard of impalement. It's important to note however, that not all rebar covers are designed to provide protection from impalement. Cases have been documented where the force of a fall has pushed the rebar clear through a plastic cap to impale a worker, or where a worker was impaled by the rebar and the cap together.

To avoid this type of horrific and life-threatening mishap, only rebar covers designed to provide impalement protection, such as those containing steel reinforcement, are recommended.

The construction professionals at White Cap offer a wide selection of rebar designed specifically to protect your most valuable asset your employees.

Employees should also use a safety belt, full body harness or other form of accidental falling protection when working more than six feet above exposed rebar.

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