Lifesaving Equipment
If workers will be exposed to fall hazards that they can't eliminate, they'll need to prevent falls from occurring or ensure that if workers do fall, they aren't injured.
How to Use a Roof Safety Harness
A fall-protection system using lifesaving equipment is designed to prevent or arrest falls.
Types of Fall Protection
There are seven general fall-protection systems that we will discuss throughout Modules 3 and 4:
- Personal fall-arrest system (PFAS): a combination of an anchorage point, a full-body harness, and a lanyard or lifeline that prevents a worker from falling too far.
- Personal fall-restraint system: prevents a worker from reaching a position where they could fall from an elevated surface, such as a roof or scaffold.
- Positioning-device system: positions a worker and limits a fall to 2 feet
- Guardrail system: physical barriers that prevent workers from falling off edges or openings.
- Safety-net system: uses mesh netting that catches a falling worker before they hit the ground.
- Warning-line system: uses lines that indicate the boundary of an area where fall protection is required.
Fall Protection ABCDs
Anchorage Connectors: Roof anchors are permanent or temporary anchor points used to perform new construction, repair, or maintenance.
Body Wear: Full body harness that connects the worker to an anchor. Harnesses distribute fall impact forces through the shoulders, thighs and pelvic region to reduce the risk of injury.
Connectors: Energy absorbing lanyards, fall limiters, self-retracting lanyards, rope grabs or retrieval systems that provide the connection from body wear to anchorage point.
Descent and Rescue: Having a program in place to deal with emergencies will reduce injury and increase chance of survival in the event of a fall.
Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.
3-1. What is a fall-protection system designed to do?
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