Transcript Document
Protection During Working at Heights
Technical Services (HQ) Safety Department
Welcome!
The reason for this Program
Falls from Heights is the main cause of serious injuries Falls from Heights is the single biggest cause of deaths at sites
The goal of this Program
Learn when we must use fall protection equipment Learn about fall protection equipment
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What is “Working at Height”
A place is at height if a person could be injured falling from it, even if it is at or below ground level.
Work includes moving around at a place of work (except by a staircase in a permanent workplace) but not travel to or from place of work.
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What you must do as an employee
Report any safety hazard to engineer.
Avoid working at height where there is probability of falling from height. Use measures to prevent risk of fall where working at height could not be avoided.
Use safety equipment properly following instructions, where other measure could not be installed.
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When is fall protection required in construction?
If a worker is at three (3) metre or higher and danger of fall exists, fall protection system must be used.
Places where fall protection is required at two (2) metre or less include holes, excavations, pits, shafts.
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Fall Protection Systems
Preventing Falls Covers Guardrails Warning Lines Personal Fall Restraint Arresting Falls Personal Fall Arrest System
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Fall Protection Systems
Covers – All covers must be able to support at least twice the load of employee, equipment and materials that may be imposed on them at any one time.
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Fall Protection Systems
Guardrails – These should meet following requirements.
Top rail and mid rail must be at least one-quarter inch nominal diameter.
The top edge of guard rail must be 42 inch (1.07 m) +/- 3 inch (7.5 cm) above walking/working level.
Mid rail should be installed at a height mid way between top rail and walking/working level.
The guard rail must be capable of withstanding a force of at least 200 pounds (90.6 kilogram) applied within 2 inch (5.0 cm) of top edge in any direction.
Guard rails must be surfaced to protect workers from lacerations and to prevent clothing from snagging.
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Fall Protection Systems
Personal Fall Arrest System – This consists of an anchorage, connectors, a body belt or a full body harness and may include a deceleration device and life line. It should meet following requirements.
Limit maximum arresting force on an employee to 1800 pounds (815.4 kilograms) when used with a body harness.
Be rigged so that an employee can not free fall more than 6 feet (1.8 meters).
Limit maximum deceleration distance to 3.5 feet (1.07 meters).
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Fall Protection Systems
Personal Fall Arrest System Have sufficient strength to withstand twice the potential impact energy of an employee free falling a distance of 6 feet (1.8 meters). Horizontal/vertical life lines shall be designed, installed and used under the supervision of a qualified person as a part of a complete personal fall arrest system that maintains a safety factor of at least two. Life line shall be protected against being cut or abraded.
On vertical life line the device used to connect to a vertical lifeline shall be capable of locking on the life line whenever an impact force is applied.
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Fall Protection Systems
Personal Fall Arrest System Lanyards and vertical lifeline must have a minimum breaking strength of 5000 pounds (2265 kilograms).
The anchor must support a minimum load of 2265 kilograms or be designed by a QUALIFIED person with a safety factor of two times the impact force of a person falling six feet.
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Personal fall arrest system components
Full Body Harness Energy absorbing rope lanyard Technical Services (HQ) Safety Department
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Rope Grab Fall Arrester & Life Line
Made from Stainless Steel Useful for vertical & sloping movement Slides on 12 mm flexible Polyamide rope. Automatic Locking facility
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Anchorage Hooks for Safety Belts
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Life Line
A Lifeline is a cable or a rope that connects to a body harness or lanyard and at least one anchorage. There are two types of Lifelines.
Horizontal Lifeline.
Vertical Lifeline.
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Vertical Life Line
A vertical life line is attached to an overhead anchor and must be connected directly to worker’s full body harness, lanyard. It must have a minimum breaking strength of 5000 pounds (2265 kilograms). When a worker moves horizontally, a vertical life line could be hazardous due to potential for a swing fall and horizontal lifeline is recommended.
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Horizontal Life Line
A flexible horizontal life line is a pliable line rigged in horizontal plane secured at each end to an anchorage. A worker is connected to the line using a personal fall arrest system that moves with the worker between the two anchorage points.
It allows worker to move horizontally and reduces the hazard of dangerous swing fall that can occur if a worker moves to a location if the anchorage is no longer directly overhead.
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Horizontal Life Line
Horizontal lifelines are subjected to much greater loads than vertical loads. If these are not installed correctly, horizontal lifelines may fail at anchorage points. Horizontal lifelines must be designed, installed and used by a competent person. Any load on horizontal lifeline will cause it to sag or deflect. The sag angle is a horizontal lifeline’s angle of deflection when it is subjected to a load, such as a falling worker. Reducing the sag angle (making the lifeline too tight) increases the force on the lifeline during a fall.
When the sag angle is 15 degree, the force on the lifeline and anchorages subjected to load is 2:1. When sag angle is 5 degree, the force increases to about 6:1.
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Horizontal Life Line
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Safety Net
Safety net openings should not be more than 15 cm on a side. Safety net must not be installed more than 30 feet (9.15 meters) below the working surface. An installed net must be able to withstand a drop test consisting of a 400 pounds (181.2 kilograms) sand bag, 30 inches (76.2 cm) in diameter, dropped from the working surface. Inspect safety nets regularly for damage.
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Retractable Wire Rope Fall Arrester
Portable Multipurpose application Available length 10 M / 15 M 4 mm dia. galvanized / 5 mm Stainless steel Cable Composite anti-shock Casing Fall Arrest Peak Force less than 6 KN.
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Safe Practices for Personal fall-arrest system
Don’t tie knots in rope lanyards and lifelines; knots can reduce strength by 50 percent.
Don’t tie lifelines or lanyards directly to I-beams; the cutting action of beams edges can reduce the rope’s strength by 70 percent. Sag angle of the horizontal lifelines can affect arrest forces on the anchorages. Whenever you connect a lifelines; think about potential for a swing fall. Shock absorbing lanyard will elongate before arresting a fall. The fall distance includes lanyard length, deceleration distance, worker height and safety margin.
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Two ways to stop injury or death from falls
1. Stop the worker from falling to a lower level.
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Two ways to stop injury or death from falls
2. Stop injury/death after falling.
Use personal fall arrest system
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Two ways to stop injury or death from falls
2. Stop injury/death after falling.
Safety Net (collective protection system)
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Fall Arrest or Fall Prevention?
Prevents deaths but may still cause injury from the arresting force or swing falls
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Fall Arrest or Fall Prevention?
is Better
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Total Fall Distance
The distance between anchor to the activation of deceleration device + From activation of deceleration device to a complete stop = Total Fall Distance
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Total Fall Distance
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How Long does it take to Fall?
Height (feet)/(m) 4 (1.2 m) 16 (4.8 m) 64 (19.32 m) 100 (30.48 m) 144 (43.89 m) 256 (78.02 m) 576 (175.56 m) 1000 (304.80 m) Time (second) 0.5
1.0
2.0
2.5
3.0
4.0
6.0
10.0
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Inspecting fall arrest equipment (made from webbing or rope)
Lanyards should be subject to Pre-use checks.
Detailed inspections.
Interim inspections.
These should be carried out by competent person, to identify defects or damages that may affect safety.
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Inspecting fall arrest equipment (made from webbing or rope)
Pre-use checks – These checks should be carried out visually each time, before a lanyard is used by passing it slowly through the hands. To detect small cuts of 1mm in the edges.
Softening or hardening of fiber.
Ingress of contaminants. A 1 mm cut in the edge of a lanyard can result in a 5 to 40% loss of strength depending upon the make of lanyard being used.
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Inspecting fall arrest equipment (made from webbing or rope)
Detailed Inspections – These should be carried out periodically at minimum intervals as specified by manufacturer or at least every six months. For frequently used lanyards the inspection should be carried out every three months.
Interim Inspections – These may be needed if lanyards are used in arduous environment involving welding/gas cutting operations, paints, chemicals, blasting operations, acidic/alkaline environment.
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Inspecting fall arrest equipment (made from webbing or rope)
Examples of defects and damages – The following defects and damages have the potential to result in the degradation and/or weakening of the lanyard.
Cuts of 1 mm or more at the edges.
Surface abrasion across the face of webbing and at the webbing loops, particularly if localized.
Abrasion at the edges, particularly if localized.
Damage to stitching (eg cuts or abrasion).
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Inspecting fall arrest equipment (made from webbing or rope)
A knot in the lanyard, other than those intended by the manufacturer.
Chemical attack which can result in local weakening and softening – often indicated by flaking of the surface. There may also be a change to the color of the fiber. Heat or friction damage indicated by fibres with a glazed appearance which may feel harder than surrounding fibres. UV degradation is associated with some loss of colour and a powdery surface.
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Inspecting fall arrest equipment (made from webbing or rope)
Partially deployed energy absorber (eg short pull-out of tear webbing).
Contamination (eg with dirt, grit, sand etc) that may result in internal/external abrasion. Damaged or deformed fittings. Internal damage to a cable-laid rope.
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Withdrawing lanyards from Use
A lanyard should be withdrawn from use and destroyed if it is thought to be defective or if there is any doubt about its safety after a pre use check or interim inspection.
A lanyard that has been used to arrest a fall should never be reused. It should be withdrawn from service immediately and destroyed.
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Use personal fall protection when working on or near
Unprotected sides or edges of platforms.
Walking or working on platforms which are under construction.
Walking or working on temporary platforms or scaffolds.
Walking or working on beams.
Dangerous equipment.
Excavations.
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Summary
Wherever possible it is best to eliminate the need for personal fall protection by installing guardrails or covers.
Employers are required to provide fall protection equipment and training on its use. Fall protection equipment should be inspected before each use for wear and damage.
Fall protection system should be inspected at least twice a year by a competent person.
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You may complain that this equipment is awkward, but it’s better than taking a fall.
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Thank you
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