Personal Fall Arrest Systems

The anchor is what everything hangs from. It has to be:

• Capable of supporting 5,000 pounds per attached worker — or designed by a qualified person with a safety factor of at least two.
• Independent of any anchorage used to support or suspend platforms.
• Overhead where possible, to limit free fall and swing.

Covered in more detail in the anchorage-points talk.

• Use a full-body harness — body belts are not allowed for fall arrest.
• The attachment D-ring sits between the shoulder blades, on your back.
• Snug all the straps; a loose harness lets you slip or takes the shock in the wrong places.
• Chest strap across the chest, leg straps firm but not cutting.

Lanyards, shock absorbers, and self-retracting lifelines (SRLs) tie the harness to the anchor.

• Use locking snaphooks and carabiners only — they can't roll open.
• A shock-absorbing lanyard or SRL limits the forces on your body when it catches you.
• Never tie a knot in a lanyard or connect two together to reach — it wrecks the rating.

The system has to stop you before you hit the level below. That means:

• Limit free fall to 6 feet or less — anchor high and keep the slack out.
• Account for the shock absorber's deployment and your body length below the anchor (total fall clearance).
• Rig to prevent a swing fall into nearby structures.
• Any harness or lanyard that has arrested a fall is taken out of service immediately.