• A travel restraint system protects workers from falling off an unprotected edge of an elevated walking-working surface.
• Positioning systems allow an employee to be protected from falls while still working with both hands free.

A travel restraint system eliminates the possibility of a worker falling from the unprotected edge of an elevated walking-working surface. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires that the restraint lines in the travel restraint systems be capable of sustaining a tensile load of at least 5,000 pounds.

Positioning systems allow an employee to be supported on an elevated vertical surface, such as a wall or windowsill, and work with both hands free. Positioning systems must meet the general design requirements that apply to all personal fall protection. Additionally, OSHA requires that all positioning systems must be capable of withstanding, without failure, a drop test consisting of a four-foot drop of a 250-pound weight.

Note: Window cleaners’ positioning systems must be capable of withstanding without failure a drop test consisting of a 6-foot drop of a 250-pound weight, and must limit the initial arresting force on the employee to not more than 2,000 pounds, with a duration not exceeding two milliseconds and any subsequent arresting forces to not more than 1,000 pounds.