A brief presentation on how and when to use fall arrest system, how to don full body harness, when to use shock absorber and what to do if someone falls while wearing harness and lanyard to rescue them. Dr. Wessam Atif.

1. About the use of fall arrest system &
safety harness while working at heights
DR.WESSAM ATIF © 2010 1

2. Learning outcome
By the end of the presentation U should be able to:
• Identify the needs to use the fall arrest system &
safety harness & the safe distance to start using it
• Identify different parts of the harness, lanyard &
anchorage points
• Inspect the fall arrest system prior to each use &
report any defects
• Properly put on (don) the safety harness & safely
adjust it to your body
• Identify proper anchorage points
• Develop an emergency response & rescue plan in
case a worker falls while using their fall arrest
system
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3. The need to use safety harness while working
at heights
• Falling from a height is considered one of the most
common causes of injuries & fatalities at work, many
injuries occurred even when falling from height of
less than one meter
• In some tasks (like constructing a scaffold) we can
not really prevent falls physically, but we can arrest
the fall & minimize the free fall distance
• We should know that using a fall arrest system is the
last line of defense after we consider all of the
following as priorities:
1. Collective fall prevention systems e.g. guard rails,
safety nets & air bags/pillows, etc.
2. Personal fall prevention e.g. restriction system; a
lanyard with no shock absorber connected to an
anchorage point restricting the distance a worker can
go, hence preventing him from reaching the edge
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4. When do we start using safety harness ?
• Any high working platform from which a
person can fall & sustain injury due to to
absence of collective fall prevention (what is
this?)
• If working at any height of 180 cm or more,
a safety harness with a restricting lanyard (no
shock absorber) must be used to prevent the
worker from reaching the edge (as shown in
the figure)
• We may start using the fall arrest system (to
minimize the free fall distance) made up of a
safety harness and a lanyard with a shock
absorber only at 6 meters height or more (or
at the appropriate calculated safe distance)
• Usually we only allow scaffolders to use the
fall arrest system and lanyards with shock
absorber, simply because they have no other
collective fall prevention
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5. Different parts of safety harness & lanyards
D - ring
Chest straps Shock absorber
Self-locking snap hook
Single lanyard
Back straps
Twin lanyard
Leg straps Lanyards with shock
absorbers (un-deployed)
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6. How to put on (don) a safety harness
1. Un-strap & un-tie all parts of 2. Start passing your arm through
the harness & Hold it from the harness strap same as what
the D-ring, as shown U do if you’re wearing a jacket
Before using a safety harness, make sure U inspect it thoroughly & not to use it in
case of any abrasion or defect & report it to the supervisor immediately
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7. How to put on (don) a safety harness – contd.
3. Now pass your other arm through 4. Now fasten the leg straps,
the other strap, same like what U as shown in the image
do when wearing a jacket
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8. How to put on (don) a safety harness – contd.
6. One important step is the adjust leg straps
5. Fasten the chest strap,
tight enough to only pass 2 fingers, as
as shown in the image
shown in image, this is to avoid sustaining
serious injuries to the pelvis in case of a fall
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9. Proper anchorage points
• Anchorage points must be selected based on scientific approaches, be tested & we
make sure it can take at least 2500 Kg without failing in case of a fall
• Best Anchorage point should be located above the head level
• If it’s not possible, we try to anchor at waist level
• Worst case scenario, we anchor at feet level or below body level
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10. Proper anchorage points – contd.
• Based on the fall distance calculation:
worker’s body length + lanyard length + length of
the deployed shock absorber, it’s best to anchor
above the head level
• Lanyards with shock absorber should only
be used when working at a height of 8
meters or more, or based on the fall distance
calculation done for each job
- Safety harness & lanyards are NOT to be
used unless workers receive proper
documented training authorized by
management -
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11. Rescue plan & first aid in case of a fall while
using the safety harness
• Never work alone, always have a buddy
with U in case U need help
• If a worker falls while wearing a safety
harness with shock absorbing lanyard, & is
unconscious, he MUST be rescued within
an average of 18 minutes
• If not rescued within such a short time, he
might sustain fatal health effects due to the
suspension trauma
• Make sure the unconscious suspended
victim has no other injuries in the head or
back due to the pendulum effect
• If the victim is conscious & alert ask him to
keep moving his legs and body as if they
were biking, this prevents blood building up
& becoming stagnant in lower limbs
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12. Rescue plan & first aid in case of a fall while
using the safety harness
• Victim should be lowered down with gravity,
usually by the help of cranes, & in coordination
with rescue team & crane operators, or
according to the site specific rescue plan
• Victim must be kept in semi – sitting
position (not flat) with knees bent for at least
30 to 45 minutes
• Check the regular airway, pulse, breathing, &
bleeding or any other possible injuries especially
head & back
• Medics to provide Oxygen & the victim to be
transferred to hospital for a thorough medical
check anyway & better kept in semi sitting
position till he reaches the hospital
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13. Resources
• http://www.hse.gov.uk/falls/harness.htm
• Harness suspension: review & evaluation of
existing information, by: Paul Seddon 2002
• NASC SG4:05 Preventing Falls in Scaffolding &
False work 2005
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