Fall Protection Awareness Class
Instructor: Ken Coats, Central Region Safety BDM
1
4 Components of a Personal Fall Arrest System
• Body Support
• Body Belts
• Full Body Harness
• Connectors
• Lanyards
• Self Retracting Lifelines
• Vertical and Horizontal
Systems
• Anchorage
• Engineered
• Non Engineered
• Rescue
2
Full Body Harness
• OSHA 1926.502 (d) (16) (ii):
• Personal fall arrest systems
shall limit the maximum
arresting force on an employee
to 1,800 pounds (8 kN) when
used with a body harness.
ANSI
Fall Arrest
(always must have)
Dorsal D-Ring
3
Connectors
• Snap hooks and carabiners must
be self-locking and self-closing.
• All connectors must meet
5000lbs.
• All connectors must be connected
to a compatible connection.
• NEW ANSI Standard (11/2007)
• Connectors shall meet 5000
lbs. and the gate shall meet
3600 lbs.
4
Lanyards
• Many different types of
lanyards
• Needs to be able to reduce
energy from 5000 lbs force to…
• 1800 lbs for OSHA
• ANSI 900 lbs or less……
5
Shock Absorbing Lanyards
• Always connect the shock pack
to the Dorsal D-ring
• Make sure you are not
exceeding the weight limit of
the lanyard
• Never connect two lanyards
together
• 100% Tie-Off
6
Clearance Calculations
General Rule:
“You need 12.5 ft of clearance
with a 6 ft lanyard”
Freefall
+
6.0 ft for Free Fall
Deceleration
3.5 ft for Deceleration
+
1.0 ft for D-ring slide
Safety Factor
2.0 ft for Safety Factor
12.5 ft clearance required
7
Clearance Calculation
What if I don’t have 12.5 ft of
clearance?
• Raise the anchor point
• Use a shorter lanyard
• Use a SRL
SRL Example
• 3.5 ft for Deceleration
• 1.0 ft for D-ring slide
• 2.0 ft for Safety Factor
•
6.5 ft clearance required
8
Anchorage and Anchorage Connectors
• Anchorages are defined as secure
points to attach an anchorage
connector to be used in conjunction
with a fall protection or rescue
system.
• Anchorages used for fall protection
shall be capable of supporting a load
of 5,000 lbs. per worker, unless
certified by a qualified person who
maintains a 2:1 safety factor.
• The maximum arresting force (MAF)
on the anchor shall be no more than
1,800 lbs.
9
Rescue & Escape
• OSHA 1926.502 (d) (20):The
employer shall provide for prompt
rescue of employees in the event of a
fall or shall assure that employees are
able to rescue themselves.
• ANSI Z359.2 Rev. If emergency
services are not able to answer a
request for assistance in a timely
manner or if they do not have
adequate equipment, then companies
should have in-house rescue
procedures and trained personnel in
place
• Program effectiveness should be
evaluated at regular intervals of no
more than two years
10