Personal Injury Law

Construction Safety - Fall Protection: What Is a Personal Fall Arrest System?

By Justin Rogers

In the construction industry, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) requires fall protection there is any risk of a worker falling from an elevation of 6 ft. or more. A personal fall arrest system is a system designed to "arrest" an employee in a fall from a working level. A personal fall arrest system contains three parts: anchorage connector, body wear, and connecting device.

The first part of a personal fall arrest system, the anchorage connector, is used to join the connecting device to an anchorage point, or tie-off point. The anchorage must be capable of supporting 5,000 pounds of force per worker, as required by OSHA, and the anchorage point must be high enough so that the worker will not make contact with the lower level in the event of a fall.

The next part of a personal fall arrest system is the body harness. The body harness is a series of straps which is designed to distribute the fall arrest forces throughout the parts of a falling worker's body. A body harness is the only acceptable form of body wear to be used as part of a fall arrest system; the use of a body belt for fall arrest was prohibited as of January 1, 1998.

The connecting device, the third and final part of a fall arrest system, is the device which connects the body harness to the anchorage point. Commonly used connecting devices are shock-absorbing lanyards, fall limiters, and self-retracting lifelines. To determine the proper type of connecting device that should be used, the potential fall distance must be calculated. Factors such as the type of work being performed and the work environment should also be taken into consideration when selecting a proper connecting device.

Before a fall arrest system is used, it should be inspected for mildew, wear, damage, and/or other deterioration. Defective components should be removed if the strength or function of the component has been diminished. If a fall has occurred, the fall arrest system should not be used again until it has been inspected.

All workers should be trained to safely and properly use a fall arrest system. Worker training should include proper anchoring techniques, estimation of free-fall and total fall distances, and inspection of the system.

Full post as published by Des Moines Personal Injury Lawyer on July 15, 2008 (boomark / email).