Fall protection equipment

During the course of a day, a lumberjack or pruner can perform various risky jobs to maintain a green space, such as climbing a tree or using a chainsaw. He must then arm himself with adequate equipment to protect himself during his activity. This is the case of anti-fall materials. They secure professionals against crashes on the ground that can be fatal or cause serious injury.

Why is the use of fall protection equipment important?

As part of the PPE or personal protective equipment, fall protection equipment is intended to protect workers against the risks: slipping or falling from the ground foot. In general, these accidents are related to the topology of the terrain, tripping over unrecognizable obstacles, or the use of unsuitable equipment.

What are the essential anti-fall materials?

Maintaining green spaces requires wearing specialized equipment for working at height, such as ropes, lanyards, carabiners, safety harness, retractor, straps and belt maintenance.

These types of protection have 3 indissociable components: gripping the body, the fall arrest connection and the anchoring system. In addition, 3 different methods can be used for this equipment: restraint, support and the fall arrester itself.

The restraint system

This method aims to keep the worker away from areas where there is a risk of falling from a height. This scenario requires the use of basic equipment, such as the harness, the lanyard and the anchor.

They are standardized EN 361 (fall arrest harness), EN 358, EN 354, EN 795 and EN 362 (connectors).

The support system

It allows the user to move around freely and to keep them in position while keeping their hands free. If there is a likelihood of a fall, the basic equipment must be coupled with fall protection protection. In this case, you must use a harness with a positioning belt, a positioning lanyard added with an anchor.

The relevant standards are EN 361, EN 358 and EN 362.

Hair loss

It consists of restraining the worker in the event of a fall and keeping him suspended in the best possible conditions until the arrival of the rescuers. It is a fall arrest system that reduces the height of the fall as much as possible, absorbs energy while attenuating the forces transmitted to the body, and limits the effects due to inert position of a person in their harness.

The fall arrest harness, the fall arrest device and the anchor point are the materials used. It must comply with standards EN 361, EN 353-1, EN 355 (energy absorbers), EN 360 (self-retracting fall arrester), EN 795, and EN 362.

The different types of fall arrest safety equipment

Lumberjacks and pruners have a wide choice of fall protection equipment to best support them in extreme working conditions. Several specialized brands in the field offer a complete range of complete equipment for professionals in green spaces and other sectors where the risk of falls is to be feared.

The lanyard with energy absorber

It is a connection system consisting of 2 connectors and a lanyard with a maximum length of 2 m. It must include an energy absorber if it is used on a fixed anchor point. The elongation is provided with an air draft which must be checked before each start of the intervention.

The Portwest webbing lanyard is made of polyester. Apart from the energy absorber, it has a self-locking carabiner and a scaffolding hook. Its wide-opening door makes it easy to use. The model provides its wearer with a solid connection point. She is 180cm tall.

The fall arrest harness

It is a body grabbing device used in fall arrest systems. It consists of straps, buckles, protective harness, harness and other safety kits to be able to adjust it appropriately on the body. It keeps the worker in an upright position and allows for prolonged, comfortable and safe suspension. Some tree harnesses have 2, 4, and even 5 anchor points.

The Portwest 3-Point Comfort Tree Care Harness incorporates all the necessary stopping points and protection, including 2 chest buckles, 2 sliding side D-rings, 1 back D-ring, 2 seats and 2 rings at the bottom of the back. It adjusts with shoulder padding to give more comfort. The model is made on the basis of nylon webbing.

The retractor or fall arrester: the fall arrester with automatic return

The fall arrester is connected to the pruning harness by a double ratchet system and a cable or strap to lock automatically in the event of a fall from a height. It is equipped with an energy absorber to dissipate kinetic energy while providing a gentle fall arrest. It allows freedom of movement to its user. The maximum weight per product is 140 kg.

Portwest offers an automatic hose reel made of heavy duty polyethylene. It has the advantage of being UV and water resistant. It includes 2 double safety carabiners with load indicator.