Fall protection , fall arrest , safety harness

[Jumbo]

As far as I know, belts are totally prohibited here in Washington. I have not seen a body belt in decades. (I may be incorrect about their ability to be used here in Washington, but nobody uses them ever. Supply houses don't even stock them.) The yo-yos I have seen are pretty much used in carloading and places like that.

I know that in Washington, shock absorbing lanyards are required for fall arrest. solid lanyards are only allowed of fall restraint.

When I started in the trades, fall protection was nonexistant. Working in a Boeing high-bay (70-90 feet) you were on your own. When fall protection first came out we were dead set against it. By the time I retired, I had reformed and seen the light and was probably pretty obnoxious with the people working for me about it.

 

[funwithfuel]

I want to thank everyone for their input and experiences. I appreciate the time you have all shared here.
Again, I hope the youngsters take a few minutes to read over what you all have shared and take a bit with them.

 

[old-iron-habit]

As far as I know, belts are totally prohibited here in Washington. I have not seen a body belt in decades. (I may be incorrect about their ability to be used here in Washington, but nobody uses them ever. Supply houses don't even stock them.) The yo-yos I have seen are pretty much used in carloading and places like that.

I know that in Washington, shock absorbing lanyards are required for fall arrest. solid lanyards are only allowed of fall restraint.

When I started in the trades, fall protection was nonexistant. Working in a Boeing high-bay (70-90 feet) you were on your own. When fall protection first came out we were dead set against it. By the time I retired, I had reformed and seen the light and was probably pretty obnoxious with the people working for me about it.

Belts have been not allowed for years by OSHA rules. They are allowed for positioning use for example like when working on a rebar curtain wall. The worker must still use a fall harness and the rebar ties has its own set of rules then. Belts probably seriously injured far more folks than they helped. Broken backs using belts were very common in falls where a fall to the ground may have been less injurious on average. Back when I started fall protection was only needed if working over 25 ft so it was a toss up.

 

[cw4Bray]

Over the years, as an EMS helicopter pilot, I've flown several fall victims. A couple of the most recent fall accidents stand out. A roofer in a new construction steel frame warehouse with steel sheeting, stepped through an uncompleted area on the roof. No harness, the scandal was loud and clear and didn't go away for a very long time for the people involved. The next accident involved a flatbed truck. He was alive when we picked him up but died on the way to the hospital. This type of accident seems to result in death most of the time, please be safe. You're probably thinking, what the heck ! A truck bed is only 48" off the ground !! How can you possible die from four feet ? I'm assuming he stepped off the load or tripped on a tie down strap, but worst case would have only been 10' -12'. Maybe someone needs to invent a frame and harness traveler to attach to a flatbed trailer ? Sounds like a gold mine, if OSHA endorses it.

 

[Camshawn]

Fall restraint keeps you from falling. Pretty simple. Loose harness is a little easier to move around in. Fall arrest, tight harness to avoid pinching the boys if you need your harness. If you are in a situation that requires fall arrest, you really need a rescue plan or you will be hanging for a while and as others have stated, it could be life altering.
Lanyards need to fit the situation. Long for longer falls, short for lower heights. Shock absorbers are a must. The self retractors have a place. Use the tool that is correct for the situation.
Cam

 

[Emerson]

I've got my lift Cert. for Knuckle booms and scissors lifts and what not. I've always used the harnesses at the rental shops, I don't own a knuckle boom I rent them, these guys sell the harnesses this is what they push in the training courses.

I had to go buy a $300 for a job last year because it had to be a higher quality and had to have an inspection. Something to keep in mind I guess, I had no idea, 99% of places for me are happy I have a harness on let alone one that is inspected every year.

 

[old-iron-habit]

Over the years, as an EMS helicopter pilot, I've flown several fall victims. A couple of the most recent fall accidents stand out. A roofer in a new construction steel frame warehouse with steel sheeting, stepped through an uncompleted area on the roof. No harness, the scandal was loud and clear and didn't go away for a very long time for the people involved. The next accident involved a flatbed truck. He was alive when we picked him up but died on the way to the hospital. This type of accident seems to result in death most of the time, please be safe. You're probably thinking, what the heck ! A truck bed is only 48" off the ground !! How can you possible die from four feet ? I'm assuming he stepped off the load or tripped on a tie down strap, but worst case would have only been 10' -12'. Maybe someone needs to invent a frame and harness traveler to attach to a flatbed trailer ? Sounds like a gold mine, if OSHA endorses it.

My nephew works at a local plant (USG) that makes ceiling tile. They have a truck bay with an overhead rack in which they tarp and secure all loads. They can use 100% tie off because of the rack.

 

[stone311]

Go with retractable lanyards! In my experience they are worthy of the price. Freedom to move without it hindering movement. I feel that they are safer than a fixed length that might get caught on your person. In some cases you need different lengths for different jobs so instead of buying more just purchase a retractable.

 

[old-iron-habit]

Over the years, as an EMS helicopter pilot, I've flown several fall victims. A couple of the most recent fall accidents stand out. A roofer in a new construction steel frame warehouse with steel sheeting, stepped through an uncompleted area on the roof. No harness, the scandal was loud and clear and didn't go away for a very long time for the people involved. The next accident involved a flatbed truck. He was alive when we picked him up but died on the way to the hospital. This type of accident seems to result in death most of the time, please be safe. You're probably thinking, what the heck ! A truck bed is only 48" off the ground !! How can you possible die from four feet ? I'm assuming he stepped off the load or tripped on a tie down strap, but worst case would have only been 10' -12'. Maybe someone needs to invent a frame and harness traveler to attach to a flatbed trailer ? Sounds like a gold mine, if OSHA endorses it.

Both of our local paper mills have tie down bays for tarping and securing loads on trucks. They have double rolling harness system above that rolls around staying very close to straight above the worker. No truck loads leave there with out using the tie down bays to secure the loads.

EDIT: OOPS, Must have fell on my head once to often. I see I posted this a while back.

 

[DMiller]

Had a seriously stupid Safety Crew at the Nuke, took fall protection to levels of ignorance that were not necessary, as when working off flatbed trailers where the Load was greater than six feet above the floor and had us tie off to the damn loads, Interpretations were all across the board, arguments were often heated and just often. We used SALA almost expressly as had the large hole belts and adjustment points easier for use with gloves, had retrieval capability for Confined space and were pretty well chem resistant, SALA Bought up or owned by 3M.

 

[DMiller]

What we argued mostly was lanyards and reels.
Reels work fine striaght up and down, inability to float them on rails or swing arms are pretty well death on a string where swing like a pendulum and get mashed sideways. Lanyards with shock absorption took 9 feet to stop a fall non absorption lanyards required two to move around where the chance to misstep increased by exponential factors. Combinations of and base reel set ups were found to require a fall of 11-14 feet before stopped fall or had arrest of fall so protection as to 6’ falls was useless.
Company would not expend moneys for rails or swing arms as plant configurations precluded their applications, would not expend moneys could never recover to reconfigure a 30+ year old facility so arguements were SOP!!

 

[JD955SC]

Get in a fall arrest course to learn proper donning and rigging procedures

personally I have an issued SALA harness and retractable lanyard at work and while it’s quality gear god it sucks to work in the only time I use it is in a man lift. Most of the time the highest I get is to work on top of a folded down excavator boom or to the top of a cab to rig it for lifting off. The lanyard deployment and arrest height is usually taller than I ever am so it’s kinda useless

also a fall arrest is a very high G hard shock on the body. It will shell your peanuts and cause other damage if you aren’t tight and adjusted and you need trauma arrest straps to relieve the suspension trauma. I know of a case of a roofer in TX that came back alone to do some finish up work and fell off a house and was within a couple inch of the ground and died of suspension trauma because he couldn’t get himself down. Don’t work at height alone.

 

[aighead]

For the home users what are you tying off to? I try to not be too high up, kind of ever, but occasionally things need done. With the 5000# of force to protect against can you just bolt into the roof? Thinking about it is seems like some kind of wide bracket that would tie into several rafters of the house or something...?

 

[JBrady]

My profession is in the oilfield, where I have had multiple fall protection courses. When working at home you have to use what is available to you. A mature tree works well (3" branch or bigger). if I am doing a roof, I'll try to catch multiple rafters or the top sill plate of the wall. If the roof is already decked, I have thrown a rope over the ridge to the other side and tied off to something solid and use a prusik knot to adjust for my work area. Remember you LO/TO as well (don't tie of to your truck bumper unless you are the only one with a key to the vehicle and it is in your pocket). I'm not worried about OSHA showing up at my home, I want to finish my work and be able to play with my kids when they get home from school.

 

[skyking1]

@aighead I go over the roof to the ground on the other side. ^ It is not osha approved but if you can restrain yourself to begin with, you are ahead of most home users.
Go watch a roofing crew in town and see how they do it.

 

[crane operator]

For the home users what are you tying off to? I try to not be too high up, kind of ever, but occasionally things need done. With the 5000# of force to protect against can you just bolt into the roof? Thinking about it is seems like some kind of wide bracket that would tie into several rafters of the house or something...?

https://www.homedepot.com/p/UpGear-by-Werner-Temporary-Roof-Anchor-A210402/203907999

I've seen these used quite a bit. Its just two steel plates and a D ring. Go up to the ridge and screw it down, then re cap the spot or tar the holes. $33.00 is lots cheaper than falling.

 

[skyking1]

I can't hit the like button enough for that sentiment.
not related to home work, but we would set a device called the scorpion on top of any pan deck roof that the guys needed to work on. it had a trigger that you were hooked to, and it weighed quite a bit. if you fell enough to trip the trigger it would send a steel hook through the pandeck!
We just moved it around with the boom truck or the tower crane or whatever.
That way the anchor point was always in the right spot.

 

[CM1995]

https://www.homedepot.com/p/UpGear-by-Werner-Temporary-Roof-Anchor-A210402/203907999

I've seen these used quite a bit. Its just two steel plates and a D ring. Go up to the ridge and screw it down, then re cap the spot or tar the holes. $33.00 is lots cheaper than falling.

View attachment 246780

Got a couple of those in our Conex for the occasional demo job that requires manual labor. They work great.

 

[skyking1]

you go up in the morning and hang a retractable on those and then pull the retractable down to the top of the ladder. then you can hook on and climb up on the roof safely.

 

[Spud_Monkey]

Thanks for waking this thread up as I can't remember everything I need for task at hand I will be ordering me a fall protection today for my pole barn build. Found one from 3M meant for welders so welding splatter doesn't destroy it and I do carry a custom 119 Buck knife at all times that will easily cut it if need be. Off to shopping for a lanyard now, I won't hurt too much if I do fall since I am so light I can damn near float at only 140 lbs.