Fall arrest systems are sometimes necessary when working at height, therefore it is important to understand what these types of systems are, how they can help and why they should be used as a last resort when it comes to your fall protection needs.
What is a fall arrest system?
A fall arrest system is designed to protect users after falling from height. Unlike fall restraint equipment (where its purpose is to completely avoid falls in the first place by keeping users away from the edge of a building for example), fall arrest gives users more freedom of movement where necessary, but is not able to prevent a fall altogether.
Fall arrest is usually chosen where surfaces that are hard to reach (such as the edge of a roof) need to be accessed for maintenance or repairs but no other type of fall protection (such as guardrails etc) is suitable.
The purpose of a fall arrest system is to mitigate a fall that has already happened and ensure that the user doesn’t hit the surface below and sustain further injury.
Any fall arrest system is safety critical, therefore it needs to be designed and fitted by experts and used by individuals who have undergone specialist training.
Types of fall arrest equipment
The most common types of fall arrest equipment are:
- Harnesses connected to a lifeline or anchor by lanyards
- Safety nets
- Air bags
This article will focus on systems formed of harnesses, lanyards and lifelines.
harnesses
Rooftop Safety Lifeline System
lanyardsWhat are the 3 components of a fall arrest system?
One of the most common fall arrest systems is formed of a fall arrest harness and a lanyard. These are then connected to either a lifeline or a reliable anchor point.
Before work starts, it is important to ensure that these components have been specifically chosen and designed for fall arrest. Appropriate equipment ensures that the kinetic energy is absorbed, making a potential fall as comfortable as it can be. A fall protection specialist will be able to recommend and design a suitable safety system for your specific requirements.
Examples of fall arrest systems
One example of such system is our KeeLine safety lifeline, which can be designed for both fall arrest and fall restraint. This is a discrete yet powerful wire-based system mainly designed for rooftop use.
With KeeLine, users are attached to a strong cable by a unique traveller attached to a lanyard and safety harness. In the event of a fall, the shock absorbers, brackets and support posts deploy and deform, immediately reducing the load impact to below 10kn, protecting both the worker and the building structure.
What is the difference between fall arrest and fall restraint?
According to the hierarchy of control, a fall restraint system is preferred to fall arrest equipment. This is because by using fall restraint, all effort goes into preventing the fall in the first place. This is done by keeping the user away from areas that could cause a drop (for example away from the roof edge or fragile surfaces).
A fall restraint system will always have a low potential for injury compared to a fall arrest one. The general EU directive preference is for fall arrest to be used only as a last resort.
Fall arrest system requirements
Before choosing a fall protection system, it is always important to understand what type of work needs to be carried out as well as the potential dangers workers are exposed to. This ensures that a system which focuses on users’ safety and comfort is put in place.
Users can still be injured while using a fall arrest system, therefore this type of protection should only be used as a last resort and only if none of the other methods of protection are suitable (ie avoiding work at height altogether or setting up collective safety equipment etc). If a potential fall occurs, workers can sustain serious injuries even when using the best fall arrest gear on the market; this is due to the shock load applied to them during the fall.
Fall arrest systems should only be used by individuals who undergo specialist training and are in good health. As with any work at height, weather conditions should be taken into consideration too.
All equipment needs to be tested and adequately maintained to ensure it is suitable for use at all times. This includes all components, from anchor points to lanyards and harnesses.
Ensuring that a viable rescue plan is in place is also incredibly important – this means that the user can be retrieved as soon as possible should they fall. Never rely on emergency services such as ambulances or firefighters as your main or only rescue method. See how our team can help with Rescue Training
Maintenance of fall arrest equipment
As a rule of thumb, PPE needs to be inspected every 6 months as well as before every single use. Other types of systems (lifelines etc) usually require annual testing unless otherwise specified in the user manual or the manufacturer’s guide.
All work at height systems and equipment need to be properly maintained and stored to ensure that they work properly. Depending on the nature of each system or piece of equipment, you might need to consider:
- An inspection, maintenance and recertification service. Our recertification service covers all types of fall arrest systems, including roof cables, anchors, eyebolts and much more. See how we can help
- Regular PPE inspection. Harnesses and lanyards are classed as Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and as such are legally required to be inspected prior every use. Individuals will need to know what to look for and how to check their equipment in order to ensure safety at all times. Our PPE Inspection Training Module can help with that.
If you require information on our training services or fall protection systems, or you are looking to have fall arrest equipment installed or serviced, do not hesitate to get in touch with us.