Safety harness how to choose it well to minimize the risk of falling

Protection for working at height

Working at height requires specific equipment to ensure the safety of the person exercising, the non-use of safety harnesses and the biggest cause of accidents in certain sectors. Wearing a safety harness is a support system with specific technical characteristics allowing this gripping device to prevent the risks associated with falls from work at height. In addition, this support system ensures your safety while allowing you to have your hands free to carry out your activity. The range of safety harnesses at Oxwork reduces the impact force on the obstacle or the collision on the ground and limits the risk of users falling. Through this article, we will discuss the choice of harness, its regulations and the elements to use it.

How to choose your fall arrest harness?

Introduction to fall protection: There are 3 general terms used to classify the use of protective equipment against falls, namely:

• Work Restraint: A risk assessment performed to determine the circumstances in which the risk of falling can be eliminated by restricting the movement of users to a safe distance from the risk of falling. This is an excellent preventative measure to ensure a safe working environment at height.

Areas of use: Rooftop work, powered access equipment, vehicle fall protection, facility management and much more.

• Work Positioning: This relates to the use of fall protection equipment in scenarios where uses need to be suspended in workstations for work which must be carried out at height. Proper training is required for the user to use fall protection equipment. It is common for this type of fall protection to be accompanied by a fall arrest system.

Areas of use: Telecom, industrial rope access, confined spaces and many more.

• Fall arrest: Fall arrest systems aim to avoid all circumstances in which the risk of falling is a hazard by arresting the fall in a safe and controlled manner. This allows the user to perform their work at height without fear of serious injury. Particular attention is given when creating these systems to ensure sufficient clearance for the user from the ground and to avoid contact with obstacles in the event of a fall. Additionally, a rescue plan in the event a fall arrest occurs, is included as part of the planning process since prolonged suspension at height can be hazardous.

Areas of use: Scaffolding, wind energy, tower crane, assembly and maintenance and much more.

Mandatory PPE regulations for professional safety harnesses

Fall protection standards:

• Safety harness EN 361: 2002: Personal fall protection system � Harness
  This standard indicates that the safety harness has passed drop tests with a weight of 50 kg simulating a person. This test shows the reaction of the harness during a fall.
• EN 358: 2000: Personal protective equipment for work positioning and prevention of falls from height. Belts to ensure risks in work positioning.
  This standard confirms that the work positioning belt and a lanyard have withstood a static force test for more than three minutes without releasing the load.
• Stop block EN 360: 2002: Personal protective equipment against falls from a height. Self-retracting fall arresters
  This standard concerns self-retracting fall arresters, lanyards and energy absorbers.
• Ropes EN 354: 2010: Personal fall protection system � lanyards
  This standard indicates that the lanyard must limit the fall and guarantee a stop without bodily injury
• EN 355: 2002: 2002: Personal protective equipment against falls from a height. Energy absorbers.
  This standard is for shock absorbing cords. These lanyards are suitable for attachment to a harness and connection to an anchor point. Shock absorbers reduce the shock caused in falls by slowing down the speed of falls.
• Connectors / rope / rope grab EN 362: 2005 Personal fall protection system � Connectors.
  This standard shows that connectors have passed the required strength tests.
• En 353 � 2: 2002: Equipment personal protection against falls from a height. Fall arrest safety harness, including a flexible anchor line.
  This standard describes the different test methods made for fixing (temporarily or permanently) to a structure.
• EN 1891: 1998 Personal protective equipment for the prevention of falls from heights. Low-stretch ropes.
  This standard confirms that this low-stretch rope has the ability for low stretch during normal work activity, the ability is solely to provide fall resistance strength.

Use: How to use a safety harness?

Application of fall protection:
When considering the application of fall protection, it may be easier to break it down to its three main areas : anchor point, safety harness and connection devices, the ABCs of fall protection.

Anchorage: As its name suggests, this point of the system that will support the weight in the event of a fall. It can be permanent or temporary depending on the requirements of the situation, but it must be able to take a load of at least 10 KN.

Safety Harness: The harness is designed to securely hold your entire body in the event of a fall when used as part of a fall arrest system.

Link: The devices for connecting your full body harness to its anchor point. Safety lanyard and arrest blocks are the most common hook-up devices.

Fall Protection Principles:
There are three main principles to consider when planning for working at heights.

Avoidances: Consider all reasonable alternatives for work not to be performed at height if practical or possible.

Prevention: If work must be performed at height, deploy appropriate preventive measures and work with restraint systems and sets.

Mitigation: In the event that the risk of falling cannot be avoided, consider the use of nets or other soft landing equipment with a suitably developed working positioning and/or system fall arrest using the appropriate fall protection equipment.

Warning:
Training: Fall arrest training is an essential requirement for anyone working at height.
Rescue plan: It is imperative that any fall arrest system includes a rescue plan in the form of suspension at height after a fall can be dangerous to the user if experienced over an extended period.