OSHA & Florida Compliance Calendar: What's Required & How Often
event_available What's required — and how often
Compliance isn't one-and-done — once a hazard exists, keeping it in check is an ongoing duty. The cadence: fall-arrest gear (harnesses, lanyards, SRLs) is inspected before every use under §1910.140, with a documented check yearly (ANSI Z359 best practice). Rope-descent and window-washing anchors get a yearly qualified-person inspection and certification at least every 10 years (§1910.27(b)). Walking surfaces, guardrails, stairs and edges must be inspected ‘regularly’ under §1910.22(d) — we recommend semi-annually (yearly at a minimum), and quarterly for parking decks and high-traffic coastal surfaces where salt air speeds the wear. Structural recertification runs on the building's age.
priority_high The top 5 failures & the deadlines
The five things that fail most on South-Florida buildings:
- 1. Unprotected roof edges & low-slope access §1910.28
No guardrail or tie-off where crews reach rooftop HVAC, antennas or drains and a 4-ft-plus fall is possible. - 2. Corroded or uncertified rooftop anchors §1910.27
Window-washing / rope-descent and tie-off anchors never load-tested, or rusted by salt air, with no certification on file. - 3. Spalling concrete walkways, balconies & parking decks §1910.22
Cracked, delaminated or trip-hazard surfaces — the classic coastal-Florida deterioration. - 4. Guardrails that miss the spec §1910.29
Under 42″ tall, or unable to take 200 lb of force — common on older or improvised rails. - 5. Caged fixed ladders not yet retrofitted §1910.28(b)(9)
Still relying on a cage instead of a fall-arrest or ladder-safety system.
The deadlines already on the clock:
- Right now — new and replaced fixed ladders must already use a fall-arrest or ladder-safety system, and rope-descent anchors need a current (within-10-year) certification on file.
- Every year — a qualified-person inspection of rope-descent anchorages; a documented Subpart D walkthrough and fall-gear check is the smart add-on.
- At the building’s age — the Florida Milestone at 30 years (a local official may require 25 near salt water), then every 10; plus Miami-Dade county recertification at 30/25 and Broward at 25, then every 10.
- November 18, 2036 — every fixed ladder over 24 ft must have a fall-arrest or ladder-safety system; cages no longer count.
event_repeat How we keep you on schedule
You can't track all of that building-by-building from a spreadsheet — so we do it for you. La Gala puts your property on a documented inspect-and-maintain schedule: gear and anchor checks, PE-sealed certifications through our engineering partner, walking-surface walkthroughs, and the records to prove every one — turning a pile of deadlines into one predictable line item. Start with a comprehensive assessment.
Got this on a citation — or want to get ahead of it?
Our PE partner certifies it and our crews fix it, under one contract. Start with a comprehensive, no-obligation assessment, or build a custom compliance plan in two minutes.