Geography / US / Source: SafetySmart Compliance
FALL PROTECTION LESSON: PERSONAL FALL ARREST SYSTEMS
WHAT’S AT STAKE
Falls are a leading cause of work injuries and deaths—especially on construction sites. One way [Company name] protects you from getting hurt or killed in a fall is by making you use what’s called a personal fall arrest system. But it won’t work if you don’t use the equipment right. Mistakes like wearing your harness upside down could cost you your life.
HOW FALL ARREST SYSTEMS PROTECT YOU
If you’re working in a high place and fall, the personal fall arrest system will stop your fall before you travel 6 feet or hit something below.
FALL ARREST SYSTEM ABCs
There are 3 parts of personal fall arrest systems—the ABCs:
Ais for anchorage
B is for body harness (the blue straps in the image)
C is for connections between the anchorage and body harness
ANCHORAGE
Anchorage, aka “tie-off point,” is a device like an I-beam, rebar, scaffolding or lifeline that holds the system in place. The anchorage point must be designed and installed so it can support the amount of force that would be applied to it if a worker fell—generally at least 5,000 lbs. per employee attached.
BODY HARNESS
A full body harness makes a fall less violent by distributing its force over the entire torso—thighs, pelvis, waist, chest and shoulders. The attachment point on a fully body harness is a D-ring.Basic rules:
- Make sure D-ring is at the center of your upper back—not under your tush, like in the picture
- Make sure your harness fits snugly across the chest and around the thighs
CONNECTORS
Connectors like shock-absorbing lanyards, fall limiters, self-retracting lifelines and rope grabs connect the anchorage to the body harness. Connector do’s & don’ts:
- Do make sure snaphooks are the locking type or of compatible size to the connection point
- Don’t attach snap hooks to:
- Each other (unless they’re designed to be attached that way)
- Webbing, rope or wire rope
- A D-ring to which another snap hook or connector is attached
- A horizontal lifeline
- Any object which is compatible with the shape or size of the snap hook (because the snap hook could become disengaged from the object)
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE
Which Worker Is Using His Harness Wrong?
ANSWER
The worker on the left is using his harness wrong because the D-ring is positioned too low—at the bottom of his back. The worker on the right has the D-ring in the center of his upper back where it belongs.