FALL PROTECTION

HSE International Consultancy Marnie Alfar

HEALTH SAFETY & ENVIRONMENT OSH Practitioner
 Fall Speed vs. Reaction Time
In 1 second your body
will fall 16 feet (4.8 mts.)

Good body reaction time

= 0.5 seconds

Travel distance in 0.5

seconds = 4 feet (1.21mts.)
By the time you react your body will be 6½ feet
(2 mts) below where you were standing
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 When do you need Fall Protection
• Workmen working in unguarded surface above open pits or
tanks, steep slopes, moving machinery and similar locations,
or working from unguarded surfaces six (6) meters (20 ft.) or
more above water or ground, temporary or permanent floor
platform, scaffold construction or where otherwise exposed to
the possibility of falls hazardous to life or limb, shall be secured
by safety belts and life lines.

• Window washers or cleaners working outside buildings six (6)

meters (20 ft.) or more above the ground or other surfaces
unless protected from falling by other means, shall use safety
belts attached to suitable anchors.

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 When do you need Fall Protection
• Workmen entering a sewer, flue, duct, or other similarly
confined places shall be provided and required to wear safety
belts with life lines attached and held by another person
stationed at the opening ready to respond to agreed signals.

• Workers who are required to climb and work on top of poles

six (6) meters or more shall use safety belts.

• In situations where safety belts and life lines in guarded

platforms and scaffolds or temporary floors are not feasible,
safety nets shall be provided and installed.

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 Types of Fall Protection
Systems
PASSIVE
ACTIVE

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DIFFERENCE:
ACTIVE
 are dynamic and require the
use of special equipment as
well as worker participation
 PPE
 Life lines
 Work positioning device
 Personal Fall Arrest
Equipment/Personal Fall
Arrest System (PFAS)
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PASSIVE
 Non-dynamic, stationary,
and does not move, adapt,
or change when in or out of
use.
 Engineering Control
 Perimeter guardrails
 Safety Net
 Safety Monitors
 LET’S GO PASSIVE

Perimeter guardrails
Safety Net
Safety Monitors

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Perimeter Guarding
A physical barrier that restricts a worker from entering a fall
hazard area.

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 Perimeter Guarding

• Perimeter guarding shall consist of a mid-rail, top-rail, toe-

board system.

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SAFETY NET
Standard requirements:
• Safety nets:
- Mesh ropes - shall not be less than 0.94 cm. (3/8 in.) diameter
- border ropes (perimeter) - not less than 1.90 cm. (3/4 in.)
diameter
- made of manila rope or other materials that can absorb the
impact of a falling body equally as nets fabricated from
manila rope of the dimensions specified.
• Mesh- not to exceed 15.25 cm. (6 in.)

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SAFETY NET:
 shall be equipped with adequately padded thimble sockets
or equivalent means of attachments.
 Supports and anchorages shall be of sufficient size and
strength to catch any falling worker.
 The nets shall be attached to sufficient supports outside and
beyond the area of possible fall and supported at sufficient
heights to prevent sagging to any solid object beneath when
cushioning the fall of a worker.

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 SELF MONITORING SYSTEM
• Intended for low-slope roofing work.
• competent person to monitor the safety of
workers and to warn them when their work
puts them close to a fall hazard.

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 SELF MONITORING SYSTEM
The safety monitor must:
 Be competent in the recognition of fall hazards.
 Warn workers when it appears that they are unaware of
fall hazards or when the workers are acting in an unsafe
manner.
 Be on the same walking or working surfaces as the workers
and be able to see them.
 Be close enough to the work operations to speak directly
with workers.
 Have no other duties to distract them from their
monitoring function.
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Employers must ensure that:
 Mechanical equipment is not used or stored in areas
where safety monitoring systems are being used to
monitor workers engaged in roofing operations on low-
slope roofs.
 No worker, other than one engaged in roofing work on low
slope roofs or one covered by a fall protection plan, enters
an area where a worker is being protected by a safety
monitoring system.
 All workers in a controlled access zone have been
instructed to promptly comply with fall hazard warnings
issued by safety monitors.

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 LET’S GO ACTIVE!

Personal Fall Arrest

Life lines
Work positioning device

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 Fall Protection

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 Personal Fall-Arrest Systems

• A Personal Fall-Arrest System

is a system used to arrest an
employee in a fall from a
working level.

• Any person ordered to work

with at height who has an
increase risk of falling off of
structures/buildings should
wear a personal fall arrest
system.

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 ACTIVE FALL PROTECTION SYSTEM
FALL RESTRAINT
• fixed-length lanyard (or dog
leash) to keep a worker’s
centre of gravity from going
over a fall hazard leading
edge.
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FALL ARREST SYSTEM
• incorporate various types of
lanyards, including rip stitch
lanyards and SRLs, all
designed to stop a
freefalling work from
impacting a lower level.
ACTIVE FALL PROTECTION SYTEM

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 Anchorage Points
• An anchorage is a secure point of attachment
for lifelines, lanyards or deceleration devices;
• Must be independent of any anchorage
being used for equipment tiebacks;
• Must be independent of the means of
supporting or suspending the worker;
• Must be capable of supporting at
least 5,000 pounds per worker;
• Sound anchorages include certified roof
anchors as well as structural members.

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 Improper Anchorage Points
• Standard Guardrails or Railings
• Ladders/Rungs
• Scaffolding
• Light Fixtures
• Conduit or Plumbing
• Ductwork or Pipe Vents
• Antennas or Satellite Dishes
• Anything else that you’re not sure of!

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Standard Requirements:
• Life lines shall be made of good quality manila
rope of at least 1.9 cm. (3/4 in.) diameter or
equivalent material such as nylon rope of at
least 1.27 cm. (1/2 in.) diameter and shall be
of sufficient strength to support a weight of
1140 kgs. (2,500 lbs.) without breaking.

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BODY WEAR: FULL BODY HARNESS
Ropes and straps
(webbing) used in lanyards,
lifelines, and strength
components of body belts
and body harnesses must
be made of synthetic fibers.

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PART OF FBH:

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 Full Body Harness
• Must be the right size for you.
• The attachment point of a body
harness shall be located on the:
◦ Rear D-ring between shoulders when working
from a suspended scaffold or an aerial lift
◦ Front D-ring when working
from a bosun’s chair.

• Harness must be adjusted snugly starting with leg straps, then

waist, shoulders and chest.

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 Connectors
 Device which is used to couple (connect)
parts of the system together.
 independent component of the system
(such as a carabiner),
 integral component of part of the system
(such as a buckle or D-ring sewn into a body
harness, or a snap-hook spliced or sewn to a
lanyard).
 Snaphooks shall be a double locking-type.
-prevent disengagement from any component
part of the personal fall arrest system.
 Screwgate carabiners and quick-link
connectors must be fully threaded.
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 CONNECTING DEVICE
Locking type snap hooks may also be used when designed for
the following connections:
 directly to webbing, rope, or wire rope;
 to each other;
 to a Dee-ring to which another snaphook or other connector
is attached;
 to a horizontal lifeline;
 or to any object which is incompatibly shaped or dimensioned
in relation to the snaphook, such that unintentional
disengagement could occur by the connected object being
able to depress the snaphook keeper and release itself.

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Lanyards
• Used to connect a body harness to a
lifeline, rope-grab, or anchorage point.
• Shall be the appropriate length:
◦ Bosun’s chair – 2 feet or less
◦ Suspended scaffold – 3 to 4 feet

• Attach to:
◦ Rear D-ring on harness between shoulders when
working on suspended scaffolds and aerial lifts.
◦ Front D-ring when working from a bosun’s chair.

• Be protected against being cut or abraded.

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Lifelines
• are used as a means of connecting other components of a
Personal Fall-Arrest System.
• shall be protected from contact with any surface that may
abrade, weaken, damage or sever it.
• shall be removed from service as recommended by the
manufacturer.

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LIFE LINES
• On suspended scaffolds or similar work platforms
with horizontal lifelines that may become vertical
lifelines, the devices used to connect to a horizontal
lifeline must be capable of locking in both directions
on the lifeline.
• Horizontal lifelines must be designed, installed, and
used under the supervision of a qualified person, as
part of a complete personal fall arrest system.

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LIFE LINES

• Vertical lifelines and lanyards

must have a minimum
breaking strength of 5,000
pounds.
• Lifelines must be protected
against being cut or abraded.

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 Rope-Grabs
• A Rope-Grab is a deceleration device
which travels on a lifeline and
automatically engages the lifeline
and locks to arrest the fall of an
employee.

• When securing the rope grab at the

work location, it should be raised
above eye level, securely engaging
the lifeline.

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LIFE LINES
• Self-retracting lifelines and
lanyards:

 automatically limit free fall

distance to 2 feet-minimum
tensile load of 3,000 pounds

 do not limit free fall distance

to 2 feet or less- minimum
tensile load of 5,000 pounds

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 Inspection of Fall Protection Systems
The following criteria will be utilized to maintain all
equipment in good working condition:

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 Full Body Harnesses

Inspect before each use.

◦ Assure that all hardware (ie. D-rings,

buckles, etc.) work properly and that
they do not have any sharp edges, burrs,
cracks or corrosion.

◦ Inspect webbing for wear, cuts, burns,

frayed edges or other damage.

◦ Inspect all stitching for abrasion and

wear to assure integrity.

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 Lanyards
Inspect before each use.
◦ Check lanyard material for cuts, burns, abrasions, kinks, knots, broken
stitches and excessive wear.
◦ Visually inspect shock absorber for any signs of damage.
◦ Verify that points where the lanyard attaches to the connectors are
free of defects.

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 Lifelines
Inspect before each use, checking for the
following:
◦ Glazing of the sheath caused by the fibers
being melted.
◦ Severe furring of the rope.
◦ Soft spots, caused by changes to the internal
structure of the core.
◦ Cutting of sheath fibers due to contact with
sharp edges.
◦ Any sign of the core showing through (rope
cores are always white).

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 Connectors
Inspect before each use.
◦ Inspect the snap hooks for distortions in the
hook, locks, and eye.
◦ Verify that the keeper spring securely closes
the keeper latch.
◦ Test the locking mechanism to verify that
the keeper latch locks properly.
◦ Check carabiner for excessive wear,
distortion, and lock operation.
◦ Ensure that all locking mechanisms seat and
lock properly.
◦ Verify there are no cracks or pitted surfaces.

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 Care for Fall Arrest Systems
• Clean equipment after use.
• Air dry equipment, do not hang in direct
sunlight.
• Store equipment in a cool, dark, dry well
ventilated place.
• Do not alter equipment in any way.
• Use caution when using equipment around
moving machinery, electrical hazards, sharp
edges, chemical hazards and high heat
environment or flame.
• All components of a Personal Fall Arrest System
that are involved in a fall shall be immediately
removed from service and disposed of or
destroyed.

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Remember!
• Always use approved anchor points.
• Always make sure fall protection is
sufficient for the job.
• Always inspect your fall protection
system prior to each use.
• Do not use fall protection system to
carry materials or tools.
• Always tie off when coming within 6
feet of an unprotected edge.

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POSITIONING DEVICE SYSTEM:
Positioning device system as a body belt or body harness system
rigged to allow a worker to be supported on an elevated vertical
surface, such as a wall, and work with both hands free while
leaning.
 Body belt or body harness systems
must be secured to an anchorage
capable of supporting at least twice
the potential impact load of a
worker’s fall or 3,000 pounds,
whichever is greater.

 Other components: Snaphooks, Dee-

rings, and Other Connectors

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