Fall

Protection:

Authorized
Person

© 2007 Capital Safety

 Do I really need Fall
Protection?

• I've carefully thought out all the

angles.
• Nothing could possibly go wrong and
it wouldn’t happen to me anyway.
• I've done it a thousand times…

• I know what I’m doing, its what I've

been trained to do my whole life.

© 2007 Capital Safety

 Think Again!

© 2007 Capital Safety

 Fall Protection in
the 21st Century

Motivators

• OSHA 1926.502
Sub-part M
• Liability &
Due Diligence
• Insurance

© 2007 Capital Safety

 Your Motivator

© 2007 Capital Safety

 Statistics

• 79,310 falls with reported injuries

in 2005
• Falls caused 809 U.S. workplace
deaths in 2006
• Falls are the #1 cause of
workplace death in the
construction industry
• OSHA ranks improper fall protection
as the #3 most serious
workplace safety violation
• Falls account for more than 20%
of the total cost of occupational
injuries

© 2007 Capital Safety

 Falls by Industry

Fatalities Non-Fatal

© 2007 Capital Safety

 Fall Protection is
needed when:

OSHA says…….

• Working at 6 ft. or higher

(Construction)

• Working at 4 ft or higher
(General Industry)

© 2007 Capital Safety

 Primary
vs.
Secondary
Protection

© 2007 Capital Safety

 Fall Prevention

Ladder Ladder
Cage Cage
Up to Over 24 ft.
25 ft.

Guardrail
42”
+/- 3”
Warning Lines
Railing <39” >34” flags
42” 6 ft
+/- 3”
CAZ
© 2007 Capital Safety
6 ft rule 39 - 45 “
 Engineering out the
Hazard

© 2007 Capital Safety

 Work Positioning
System

OSHA
1926.502 (e)
• 2 ft. Free fall limit
• Anchorage
requirement 3000
lbs.
• OSHA considers
decent
control/rescue
systems same as
work positioning
© 2007 Capital Safety
 Fall Arrest System

• Clearance

• Freefall

• Rescue
Personal
• Energy Absorption

• Obstructions

Site

© 2007 Capital Safety

 Fall Protection
Considerations

Swing Fall

This limit’s to a 4 ft drop Obstructions ?

© 2007 Capital Safety
 Clearance Calculations

Situation:
• I am 6 ft tall
• Using a 6 ft lanyard
• Anchored at my shoulder

How much fall

clearance do I need?

© 2007 Capital Safety OSHA 1926.501(d)(16)(iii) & (iv)

 Clearance Calculations

General Rule:

“You need 12.5 ft of clearance

with a 6 ft lanyard”
Free Fall

• 6.0 ft for Free Fall

Deceleration
• 3.5 ft for Deceleration
Safety Factor
• 1.0 ft for D-ring slide
• 2.0 ft for Safety Factor
12.5 ft clearance required

OSHA 1926.501(d)(16)(iii) & (iv)

© 2007 Capital Safety

 Clearance Calculations

What if I don’t have 12.5 ft of

clearance?
• Raise the anchor point
• Use a shorter lanyard
Free Fall
• Use a SRL

Deceleration SRL Example

• 3.5 ft for Deceleration
Safety Factor
• 1.0 ft for D-ring slide
• 2.0 ft for Safety Factor
6.5 ft clearance required

© 2007 Capital Safety OSHA 1926.501(d)(16)(iii) & (iv)

 Components of a Fall
Arrest System

• Body Support

• Connectors

• Anchorage

• Rescue

© 2007 Capital Safety

 Body Support

© 2007 Capital Safety

 Belt vs. Harness

OSHA 1926.502
(d):
“Effective Jan. 1,
1998, body belts are
not acceptable as
part of a personal fall
arrest system...”

© 2007 Capital Safety

 Full Body Harness

ANSI
Fall Arrest
OSHA 1926.502 (d)
(always must have)
(16) (ii):
Personal fall arrest
systems shall limit
the maximum
arresting force on
an employee to
1,800 pounds (8
kN) when used with
a body harness.

Front Back

© 2007 Capital Safety

 Other Harness Types

Controlled Descent
Escape &
Evacuation
© 2007 Capital Safety
 Harness Donning

STEP ONE

Getting Started:

• Hold harness by
back D-ring

• Make certain
straps are not
twisted.

© 2007 Capital Safety

 Harness Donning

STEP TWO

Shoulder Straps:

•Slip harness over arms and

onto shoulders.

• Make certain all straps are

not tangled and hang freely.

•Shoulder straps should be

kept vertical, not pulled into
center of body.
© 2007 Capital Safety
 Harness Donning

STEP THREE

Leg Straps:

• Grab leg straps and

connect to buckles

• Pass excess strap through

loop keepers.

• Leg straps should fit

snugly.

© 2007 Capital Safety

 Harness Donning

STEP FOUR

Chest Strap:

• Attach chest strap

• Strap should be six inches

below top of shoulders.

• Pass excess strap through

loop keeper.

© 2007 Capital Safety

 Harness Donning

STEP FIVE
Adjusting:
Shoulders: To tighten, pull up on free ends of straps
as shown, to loosen, push down on parachute
adjuster buckle frame. Straps should be adjusted to
same length.
Chest Strap: To tighten, pull free end of strap, to
loosen, push on strap from free end through adjuster
buckle and take up slack by pulling on adjuster
buckle. To position, slide keeper up or down
shoulder strap.
Back D-ring: Center between shoulder blades,
slide D-ring and pad up or down along the webbing
to position.
© 2007 Capital Safety
 Connectors

CONNECTORS
Connectors include lanyards, snap-
hooks, carabiners, deceleration
devices such as SRL’s, ladder climbing
systems, vertical & horizontal lifelines
and rope grabs

OSHA says…“ [1926.502(e)(5)]:

Connecting assemblies shall have a
minimum tensile strength of 5,000
lbs. (22 kN)."

© 2007 Capital Safety

 Hardware

Snaphooks Carabiners

Must be double acting, auto locking (ANSI),

5000 lbs,
AND REMEMBER…..You can not connect a SNAP
HOOK to a CARABINER!!
© 2007 Capital Safety
 Compatible Connection

Want a smaller hook than the D-ring

Not Compatible
Compatible (Forced Rollout)
Not
Compatible
(False Connection)

© 2007 Capital Safety

 Forced Rollout

OSHA 1926.502 (d) (5)

…effective Jan. 1998 only locking type snap
hooks shall be used.

© 2007 Capital Safety

 Lanyards

Many different
types of lanyards

Needs to be able to
reduce energy from
5000 lbs force to…
• 1800 lbs for OSHA
and ANSI
• 900 lbs or less is
very common with
shock absorber

© 2007 Capital Safety

 Shock Absorbers

Remember:

• Always connect the shock

pack to the Dorsal D-ring

• Make sure you are not

exceeding the weight limit of
the lanyard

• Never connect two lanyards

together

© 2007 Capital Safety

 Anchorages

© 2007 Capital Safety

 Anchorage Classes

Certified Non-Certified
(Engineered) (Improvised)
2 to 1 safety factor Requires 5000 lbs
As low as 1800 lbs. for OSHA
and 3600 lbs for ANSI
© 2007 Capital Safety
 Anchors….5000 lbs.

Impact M.A.F.
Force Maximum Arresting Force

Strength and Stability

© 2007 Capital Safety
 Anchorage Connectors

© 2007 Capital Safety

 Horizontal Lifeline
Anchorages

Fh >>
Fv
Fh Fh

Fv
© 2007 Capital Safety
 Self Retracting
Lifelines

© 2007 Capital Safety

 SRL Use

Tagline

Fall Indicator
Deployed

© 2007 Capital Safety

 Fall Distance Calcs.
with VLL

Freefall: 6 feet (with 3’ lanyard)

Fall Arrester Lock off: 3.5 feet
Energy Absorber Deployment: 3.5 feet
D-Ring Slide: 1 foot
Lifeline Stretch: See below

© 2007 Capital Safety

 Rope Grabs

Manual Roof Work

© 2007 Capital Safety

 Rope Grabs &
Fall Arrestors

Manual

Automatic
© 2007 Capital Safety
 Horizontal Lifelines

Temporary
OSHA 1926.502 (d) (8):
Horizontal lifelines shall be designed, installed, and used,
under the supervision of a QUALIFIED PERSON, as
part of a complete personal fall arrest system, which Permanent
maintains a safety factor of at least two.

© 2007 Capital Safety

 Rescue and Escape

OSHA 1926.502 (d)

(20):
The employer shall
provide for prompt
rescue of employees in
the event of a fall or
shall assure that
employees are able to
rescue themselves.

© 2007 Capital Safety

 Rescue Plan?

Some Days all

you can do is
smile and wait
for some kind
soul to come
pull your butt
out of the bind
you’ve gotten
yourself into!

© 2007 Capital Safety

 Thank You

www.capitalsafety.com

© 2007 Capital Safety