Personal Fall Arrest Systems

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Personal Fall Arrest Systems

• Inspection and Maintenance
• OSHA REGULATION
• CFR 1926.502-503

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Disclaimer
The information presented in this presentation
has been compiled from sources believed to be
reliable and is intended to be a tool to assist
and guide you in building your own presentation.
This program may not address all the hazardous
conditions or unsafe acts that may exist. For
that reason, SPIN cautions users to confirm
accuracy and compliance with the latest standards
and best practices. Local, State/Provincial and
Federal regulations take precedence over this
material. Implementation of any practices
suggested by this program is at your sole
discretion, and SPIN will have no liability to
any party for any damages including, but not
limited to, direct, indirect, special or
consequential damages, arising out of or in
connection with the information provided or its
use.
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PFAS(Personal Fall Arrest System)

• A system used to protect an employee in a fall
  from a working level.
• It consists of an anchorage, connectors, body
  harness and may include a lanyard, deceleration
  device, lifeline, or suitable combinations of
  these.
• As of January 1, 1998 the use of a body belt for
  fall arrest is prohibited!
• Employers must plan the rescue of the worker.

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Justification

• If equipment isnt inspected before each use,
  defects not identified could cause failure of the
  system in the event of a fall.
• Serious injury or death may occur when wearing
  faulty personal fall arrest systems which fail in
  the event of a fall.
• New quarterly inspection report to be submitted
  to the EHS office.

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Inspection

• To maintain service life and ensure performance
  capabilities.
• Inspect before and after each use.
• Take out of service any defective conditions
  found.
• Equipment may not be modified in anyway.
• Best practice is to store out of light, and
  hanging from the Dee-ring.

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Inspection Harness

• Examine all nylon webbing for burn marks, torn,
  frayed, broken fibers, pulled stitches or frayed
  edges.
• No damage from acid or other corrosives.
• Dee-ring - no wear, pits, deterioration,
  deformation or cracks.

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Inspection cont.

• Buckles, not deformed or cracked and operate
  correctly.
• Tongue straps, no excessive wear
• All Grommets (if present), secure and not
  deformed from abuse or a fall.
• No additional punched holes.
• Rivets tight not deformed.

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Inspection - Lanyard or lifeline

• No Cuts, burns, abrasion, kinks, knots, broken
  stitches.
• Check Snap-hooks for, hook, locks, and eye
  distortion.
• Carabiner for excessive wear, distortion and lock
  operation.
• All locking mechanisms seat and lock securely.

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Lanyard cont..

• No visible WARNING TAG deployed.
• Shock Absorber no damage, pay close attention to
  where it attaches to the lanyard.
• Point of attachment to snap-hook free of defects.

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Retractable Lanyard

• Check
• outer casing no damage
• nuts/rivets tight
• cable ends securely crimped, eye and rubber stop
  in place
• entire length of cable/strap undamaged and
  retracts freely
• Verify locking mechanism operates correctly by
  pulling sharply on the cable/strap
• If manufacturer recommends, return for scheduled
  inspection

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Inspection Snap-hooks

• No hook and eye distortion.
• No cracks, pitted surfaces or corrosion.
• Keeper latch
• not bent, distorted or obstructed
• seats into nose of the hook without binding
• spring securely closes
• test locking mechanism to verify it locks
  properly

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Rescue

• Never work alone.
• Always pre-plan how you will rescue someone in
  the event of a fall.
• You may survive a fall but will not survive
  extended period of time suspended in your PFAS.

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RESCUE

• Arresting forces are on thighs, pelvis, waist,
  chest and shoulders
• Harness rated for 1800 pounds of arresting forces
• Tolerable suspension time of 15 minutes

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• 1.) Free Fall Distance. Limited to 6
• 2.)Total Fall Distance. The sum of the fall
  distance and deceleration distance.
• 3.) Deceleration distance. Must not exceed 3.5.

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Anchor
Before Fall
After Fall
6 length of lanyard
3 1/2 deceleration distance
Fall Clearance Calculation 6ft. Lanyard
length 6ft. Height of worker 31/2 ft. Extension
of shock absorber 3 ft. Safety
Factor 18 1/2 ft. Minimum recommended fall
clearance.
6 height of worker
3 safety factor
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Swing Fall Hazard
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