Personal Fall Arrest Systems

 

A Personal fall arrest system is required when working at height levels with an unprotected side or edge. When it is not possible to provide a safe working platform, i.e. secured full deck board with guardrails including toe guards and means of safe access and there is risk of fall from height, then use of personal fall arrest or personal fall protection equipment is mandatory.

Appropriate connectors assembly along with full body harness required for each work shall be determined based on the level of exposure, nature of work, type of roof/surface/platform, etc. and shall be listed in the permit to work.

Generally, a personal fall arrest systems consist of anchors (connector), full body harness and lanyard with shock absorber.

Regulations – Personal fall arrest system
OSHA 29 CFR 1926.502 gives guidelines on Fall protection systems criteria and practices.

Body belts are not acceptable as part of personal fall arrest system according to OSHA 29 CFR 1926.502(b) because they can cause serious injury during fall.
When workers are exposed to fall of 6 feet or more to a lower level, they must wear personal fall arrest. Personal fall arrest system must be designed and setup according to OSHA 29 CFR 1926.502 (d)(16)(iii

Safe work practices and controls
1. Plan and organize the work in advance through the work permit system and the Job Safety Analysis to assess the requirement of personal fall protection system.

2. Make sure, all personal protective equipment used for working is inspected before use.

3. Workers must be trained in the use of personal fall arrest equipment and must work under the constant supervision of a competent person.

4. Workers with health problems such as heart disease, high blood pressure, psychosis, epilepsy, or one of these diseases should be considered unfit.

5. It is very important to calculate the proper length of lanyard, anchorage position and the distance to the lower level i.e. fall clearance distance to prevent contact with lower surface in the event of fall.

6. The pendulum effect must be predicted for the fallen worker so that it cannot be hit on the nearby structure. There anchor point must be above the work area.

8. A personal fall arrest system includes an anchorage (where the lanyard’s snap hook is attached), Full body harness and connector i.e. lanyard with shock absorber or lifeline. Connector couples the body harness to the anchorage. Lifeline may be self-retractive type or with deceleration device.

9. How to wear full body safety harness properly:
 
  - Before use, inspect your harness for any damaged straps, buckles, D-ring and lines. Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions and keep in mind that most of the harness are withstanding 140 kg load.
 
  - Hold the harness by D-ring in your right hand and shake it to allow all straps to hang down. If any strap i.e. chest, thighs or waist are already buckled then unbuckle them before wearing.
 
  - Slip straps over shoulders and ensure the D-ring of harness at center i.e. between the worker’s shoulder blades. Lanyard should be attached to the D-ring.
 
  - Adjust the harness to fit comfortably. Make sure all straps are fastened and adjusted correctly.

This information is provided by Assurance Agency https:www.assuranceagency.com