Wednesday, June 22, 2011

The Way Fall Arrest Systems Work

By Adriana Noton


Fall arrest systems stop people while they are falling. According to the U. S. Department of Labor, it is illegal for workers located at great heights not to be protected from falling and injuring themselves. This system is one form of protection that satisfies their standards.

Two main types of protection exist: personal and general fall arrest. General versions could be something like a large catching net. Lifelines are examples of personal systems. The personal systems stop each worker during a fall and prevent him or her from becoming seriously injured.

Personal systems must have four main elements. The first is anchorage. An anchor is any strong fixed structure or connector to a structure that the elements of the personal system are attached to. The second thing that must be present is body wear. This means that a complete harness is worn by workers. Next, a connector that attaches the harness and the anchorage is required. An example of this is a lanyard. Last, a deceleration device must be present to reduce the forces at work when an individual falls.

All of these four parts contribute to the proper functioning of the system. Different products are available that can be put together to fulfill each role, but they must meet several standards. The combination of products depends on the environment being worked in and the type of work being done.

Energy absorption is key to arrest a fall properly. Without this absorption, falls will be stopped by applying a large amount of force on the worker and the anchorage. This can damage either or both.

The most popular individual system is the vertical lifeline. This has an anchor that can hold five thousand pounds per user. It is made of rope attached to the anchor. This rope then stretches to increase the amount of fall distance and absorbs some of the energy. If ropes are used that do not stretch, the distance of the fall will be limited but an additional energy absorber sill be needed.

The horizontal lifeline is another popular system. These lines allow workers to freely move the length of an anchor and without the need to disconnect and reattach to it. This system requires shock absorbers as well as personal protective equipment worn by every worker.

When shock absorbers are not used, the horizontal life line does not deform enough during falls. This creates forces on the anchor system and may cause failure of anchorage. This is even possible if there are energy absorbers in the workers own equipment as well. For this reason the horizontal system is generally limited to qualified personnel only.

Fall arrest systems for window washing equipment are required to by law to be used by individuals working at great heights. They work to prevent injuries that would otherwise be caused. There are two main types of protection: general and personal. General can stop the falls of several people, individual are attached to each worker. Of the individual type there are vertical and horizontal life lines. Vertical is much more effective and therefore horizontal can only be used by highly experienced people as it is a riskier attachment form.




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