Fall Zone + Sphere of Influence = Danger Zone By: Michael J. Gelskey, Sr. The U.S. Department of Labor – Occupational Safety & Health Administration in 29CFR 1926.1401 defines the fall zone as, “The area, including but not limited to, directly below the load in which it is reasonably foreseeable that partially or completely suspended materials could fall in the event of an accident”. Untrained users may be unaware of the subtlety of “but not limited to, directly below the load”. Erroneously the focus may be placed solely on the “directly below the load” without regard to “but not limited to”. As an example, consider a scenario in which a spreader bar is used to lift a load and it is connected to the crane with a two-leg bridle sling. Imagine the sphere of influence if during use, just one of bridle legs were to break. The load may fall “directly below”, but the spreader bar, while still connected to the crane with the remaining bridle leg may be propelled into the “but not limited to” zone.
