Fall protection — Personal fall arrest, travel restraint, and positioning

Scope

OSHA requires all general industry employers provide some type of acceptable fall protection for employees working at elevations of four feet or more from a lower level. In addition, OSHA requires that fall protection be provided when working over dangerous equipment and machinery, regardless of the fall distance.

Regulatory citations

• 29 CFR 1910.21 — Scope and definitions
• 29 CFR 1910.28 — Duty to have fall protection and falling object protection
• 29 CFR 1910.29 — Fall protection systems and falling object protection — criteria and practices
• 29 CFR 1910.30 — Training
• 29 CFR 1910.67 — Vehicle-mounted aerial lifts
• 29 CFR 1910.132 — Personal protective equipment
• 29 CFR 1910.140 — Personal fall protection systems
• 29 CFR 1910.268 —Telecommunication work
• 29 CFR 1910.269 — Electric power transmission and distribution work
• 29 CFR 1926, Subpart L — Scaffolds

Key definitions

• Anchorage: A secure point of attachment for equipment such as lifelines, lanyards, deceleration devices, and rope descent systems.
• Body belt: A strap with means both for securing it about the waist and for attaching it to other components such as a lanyard used with positioning, travel restraint, or ladder safety systems.
• Body harness: Straps that secure about a worker in a manner that distributes fall arrest forces over at least the worker’s thighs, pelvis, waist, chest, and shoulders should a fall occur.
• Competent person: A person who:
  • Is capable of identifying existing and predictable hazards in any personal fall protection system or component as well as in their application and uses with related equipment; and
  • Has the authorization to take prompt corrective measures to eliminate the identified hazards.
• Connector: A device used to couple or connect together parts of a personal fall protection system. Examples of connectors include snaphooks, carabiners, buckles, and D-rings.
• D-ring: A connector used in:
  • Harnesses, as an integral attachment element or fall arrest attachment;
    • Integral means the D-ring cannot be removed (e.g., sewn into the harness) from the body harness without using a special tool.
  • Lanyards, energy absorbers, lifelines, or anchorage connectors as an integral connector; or
  • A positioning or travel restraint system as an attachment element.
• Deceleration device: Any mechanism that serves to dissipate energy during a fall.
• Lanyard: A flexible line of rope, wire rope, or strap which generally has a connector at each end for connecting the body belt or body harness to a deceleration device, lifeline, or anchorage.
• Lifeline: A component consisting of a flexible line for connection to an anchorage at one end to hang vertically (vertical lifeline) or for connection to anchorages at both ends to stretch horizontally (horizontal lifeline), and which serves as a means for connecting other components of a personal fall protection system to the anchorage.
• Personal fall arrest system: A system used to arrest an employee in a fall from a walking-working surface. It consists of a body harness, anchorage, and connector. The means of connection may include a lanyard, deceleration device, lifeline, or a suitable combination of these.
• Personal fall protection system: A system (including all components) an employer uses to provide protection from falling or to safely arrest an employee’s fall if one occurs. Examples of personal fall protection systems include personal fall arrest systems, positioning systems, and travel restraint systems.
• Positioning system (work-positioning system): A system of equipment and connectors that, when used with a body harness or body belt, allows an employee to be supported on an elevated vertical surface, such as a wall or window sill, and work with both hands free. Positioning systems also are called “positioning system devices” and “work-positioning equipment.”
• Safety factor: The ratio of the design load and ultimate strength of the material. Generally, the term refers to the structural capacity of a member, material, equipment, or system beyond actual or reasonably anticipated loads; that is, how much stronger the member, material, equipment, or system is than it usually needs to be to support the intended load without breaking or failing. A safety factor is an additional or extra margin of safety that provides assurance the system or equipment is able to support the intended load (e.g., a safety factor of two).
• Tieback: An attachment between an anchorage (e.g., structural member) and a supporting device (e.g., parapet clamp or cornice hook).
• Travel restraint system: A combination of an anchorage, anchorage connector, lanyard (or other means of connection), and body support that an employer uses to eliminate the possibility of an employee going over the edge of a walking-working surface.

Summary of requirements

Employers must:

• Evaluate the work environment and operations for fall hazards and falling object hazards.
• Provide fall protection in some acceptable form (e.g., guardrail systems, safety net systems, personal fall protection systems, or designated areas).
• Train employees on proper use of fall protection systems.
• Inspect personal fall protection systems.
• Select personal fall protection systems that are suitable for the job.
• Maintain personal fall protection systems in safe working condition.
• When required to be used, provide personal fall protection systems at no cost to the employee.