Fall Protection and

Harness Rescue
Safety Control Division

Engr. Lorenzo L. Mantilla Jr.

Engineer II- SCD, OSHC
 Lesson objectives
At the end of this lesson, trainees will be able to:
 Learn the elements of the fall protection plan.
 Know the hierarchy of fall protection controls.
 Discuss the fall restraint and personal fall arrest
system, and their components.
 Learn the safety requirements of horizontal and
vertical lifelines.
 Understand the safety standards for wire rope clips
if used in a horizontal lifeline.
 Discuss the suspension trauma or harness hang
syndrome.
 Learn the process of harness rescue.

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 Develop a fall protection plan
The contractor performing work at heights must develop a
fall protection plan that must include, but not be limited to
the following:

 Fall hazards of the job

 Specific tasks that personnel may perform which require
the use of PFAS.
 Method of access to elevated workplace.
 Fall protection system and equipment to be used.
 Identification and fitting of correct fall protection
equipment to the task.

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 Selection of appropriate anchor points.
 Methods for securing lanyards and lifelines.
 Protection from falling objects.
 Storage, inspection and maintenance of fall
protection equipment
 Rescue procedures for elevated workplaces.

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 Hierarchy of fall protection controls

Priority Control Related activities to implement prevention or

control measures (Example)
First Eliminate the fall Bring work at ground level (assemble/fabricate).
hazard
Second Passive fall Install physical barriers e.g. Guardrail system
restraints
Third Active fall Use a restraint system (e.g., full-body harness,
restraints lanyard & anchor) to prevent fall
Fourth Fall arrest Use a PFAS or safety net to minimize the fall
injuries
Fifth Control Access Provide adequate training, on-site supervision,
Zones (CAZ) limited access of workers on highly hazardous
locations, signage & visible barriers to prevent
workers from fall hazard zones
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 Additional Fall Protection
Fall Restraint System:
Travel Restraint System – is an assembly composed of
body belt and proper accessories that prevent a
worker from traveling to an edge where the
occurrence of a fall may happen.

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 Additional Fall Protection

Fall Restraint System:

•Use to prevent the user from reaching an area where free-
fall could occur (e.g. leading edge roof work)

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 Additional Fall Protection
Fall Restraint System:
•Least desirable method of protection because it
minimizes the consequences of a fall rather than
preventing its occurrence.
•Should only be considered after determining that the
fall hazard cannot be eliminated or the possibility of
falling prevented.
• Requires the use of personal fall protection
equipment or a safety net to prevent a complete fall.

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 Additional Fall Protection
 Fall Arrest System a device connected to reliable anchor which protects the user
after a fall, they stop the fall before hitting the surface.
 Purpose:
1. Stop the fall
2. Distribute the impact energy experienced during the fall arrest.

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 Additional Fall Protection
 Personal fall Arrest System means a system used to arrest a worker in a fall from a walking-working
surface. It includes the following:
 Full Body Harness
 Lanyard with snap-hook /scaffolders hook
 Substantial anchorage/s
 Lifeline

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 Additional Fall Protection
 Full Body Harness a design of straps that secured
about an individual in a manner that distribute the fall
arrest forces over the thighs, pelvis, waist, chest and
shoulders, with means for attaching it to other
components of a fall arrest system.

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Additional Fall Protection
 Parts of Full Body Harness

Front Back
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 Additional Fall Protection
 Shock-absorbing lanyard specially designed lanyard with a built-in shock
absorber that elongates during a fall so that fall arresting forces are
significantly reduced by 65%-80%, if compared to traditional lanyard.

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 Additional Fall Protection
 Lanyard – flexible line with a positive means to lock end connections closed (locking
type snap hooks or carabineers with self-closing, self-locking keeper) that is used to
secure the wearer of a full body harness to a lifeline or a point of anchorage.

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 Additional Fall Protection
 Lifeline a component that consists of a flexible line that connects to an anchorage at one end to hang
vertically (vertical lifeline), or that connects to anchorages at both ends to stretch horizontally
(horizontal lifeline), and which serves as a method to connect other components of a PFAS to the
anchorage.

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Additional Fall Protection
 Horizontal lifeline
• Consists of a fixed rail or synthetic fiber rope or wire
rope rigged between two substantial anchor points
• Allows a worker to move horizontally

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 Additional Fall Protection

 Self-retracting lifeline/ lanyard is a deceleration device. It contains a drum-wound line that

may be either slowly extracted from or retracted onto the drum under slight tension during
normal worker/user movement, when fall it automatically locks the drum and arrest the fall.

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 Additional Fall Protection
 Anchorage - safe points of anchorage for lifelines or lanyards, which are part of PFAS, including
fixed, substantial structural members. Anchorage points shall be fixed and able to support a load
of at least 2,268 kgs (5,000 lbs.).

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Additional Fall Protection

• Inspect your harness before each use.

Buckle

Webbing

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Additional Fall Protection

D-rings
Look for bent, cracked, nicked, or gouged rings.

Remember: IF THE HARNESS IS DAMAGED OR

WORN, DO NOT WEAR IT!!
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 Additional Fall Protection
 PFAS shall comply with ANSI Z 359.1
 Suspension trauma safety straps must be provided with each full-body harness.
 Full body harness shall safely support 2,268 kgs (5,000 pounds) dead weight (minimum breaking strength).
 Fall arrest equipment must limit the maximum force on the user’s body to 818 kgs (1,800 lbs.)

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 Additional Fall Protection
 D-rings and snap hooks must be capable of
supporting a minimum tensile strength load of
2,268 kgs (5,000 lbs.), and must be proof-tested
by manufacturer to a minimum tensile load of
1,633 kgs (3,600 lbs.) without cracking, breaking
or permanent deformation.
 Self-retracting lifelines must limit free fall to 0.6 m
(2 ft.) or less & must have components capable of
supporting a minimum static tensile load of 1,361
kgs (3,000 lbs.) when fully extended.

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 Additional Fall Protection

 Shock-absorbing lanyards:
 Limit the maximum deceleration distance an individual
travels to 1.07 m (3.5 ft.)
 Not exceed 1.8 m (6 ft.) in length.
 Safely support 2,268 kgs (5,000 lbs.) dead weight (i.e.
minimum breaking strength).
 Limit the arresting force to 408 kgs (900 lbs.)
 Be labeled by the manufacturer meeting ANSI Z359.1.

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 Additional Fall Protection

 Anchor points or lanyards and self-retracting

lifelines must:
 Be capable of supporting at least 2,268 kgs (5,000
lbs.) per person attached.
 Not be attached to guardrails, standpipes, vents,
etc. that cannot support 2,268 kgs (5,000 lbs)
 Attach high enough (preferably above shoulder
height) to prevent worker/user from free falling more
than 1.8 m or striking any lower level during a fall.

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 Additional Fall Protection Controls

 Horizontal lifelines
 Minimum of 12 mm (1/2 inch) diameter wire rope
having a breaking strength specified by manufacturer
of at least 9,000 kgs (20,000 lbs).
 Capable of supporting 2,268 kgs per person attached
applied anywhere along the lifeline.
 Be designed by Structural Engineer.
 Not have an unloaded sag at the center of the lifeline
greater than 30 cms. For every 10 m(33 ft.) of lifeline
length between anchor points.

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Additional Fall Protection
 Horizontal lifelines
 Not more than three (3) persons attached at one time,
unless designed by structural engineer.
 Be free of splices.
 Have softeners where the lifeline could contact sharp
edges.
 Be removed when not needed.

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Additional Fall Protection
 When wire rope clips are used on the horizontal lifeline.
 Minimum of three (3) wire rope clips installed, with a minimum
distance of six (6) rope diameters apart.
 Clips shall be installed according to the manufacturer’s
recommendation.
 Clips shall be inspected & re-tightened to the manufacturer’s
recommendation after the initial loading.
 Clips shall be inspected and retightened to the manufacturer’s
recommendation at the start of each work shift.

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Additional Fall Protection
 When wire rope clips are used on the horizontal
lifeline.
 When U-bolt clips are used, the U-bolt shall be placed
over the dead end of the rope, and the saddle shall be
placed over the live end of the rope.

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Additional Fall Protection

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Additional Fall Protection
To determine the number of clips and the torque required for specific
diameters of rope, refer to the table below.

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 Additional Fall Protection
 Scaffolding and working platforms
 Scaffold can be used as access to the roof.
 Top rail can be used as guide of lifeline (wire
rope) specifically for its elevation.
 Life line must be attached to a suitable
anchorage point ( at the structure of the
building, or can devise a temporary structure
like concrete barriers where its weight meets
the required tensile strength of life line
anchorage.

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 Additional Fall Protection Controls
 Safety nets
 Make sure safety nets are properly installed
by competent workers.
 Installed as close as possible below the roof
involved to minimize the distance fallen.
 Installing safety net does not mean that
proper working platforms and edge
protection can be ignored, because the top
priority is to stop the people from falling.

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 Additional Fall Protection Controls
 Protection of the public
 PD 1096 section 1106, National Building Code of the Philippines
requires that members of the public must be protected from the
hazards of any falling materials during roof work operations.
 Lay sheeting or boarding to prevent materials from falling through
gaps in the working platforms, or between the platform and the
building.
 Hard barricade at ground level enclosing the hazard zone is
necessary.
 Safety signs must be installed.

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 Suspension Trauma
 Full Body Harness (FBH) Hang
trauma
 FBH can become deadly if the
worker is hanging/suspended for
duration over five minutes (5
minutes) in an upright posture.
 The victim could experience a
“Suspension Trauma” which is
caused by “orthostatic
incompetence”.

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 Suspension Trauma
 Suspension trauma
Suspension trauma, also known as
harness hang syndrome and
orthostatic incompetence, occurs after a
worker has fallen into a fall arrest harness
and is suspended in a hanging position
until rescue arrives. When hanging in a
fall harness, the leg straps support the
body’s weight. During this time, the leg
straps of the fall protection harness crush
the femoral arteries on the inside of the
legs, cutting off blood circulation.

https://www.safeopedia.com/definition/6668/
suspension-trauma
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 Suspension Trauma
 Orthostatic Incompetence
- It can occur any time wherever a person is required to stand quietly
for prolonged periods and maybe worsened by heat and
dehydration.
- In relation of person’s condition like in suspension trauma, “gravity
pulls blood into the lower legs, which have large storage capacity.
Blood accumulates so that return blood flow to the heart is reduced.
Thus, the heart can only pump the blood available, then heart’s
output begin to fall. Heart speeds up to maintain enough blood flow
to the brain, but blood supply to the heart is restricted, speeds up
breathing is ineffective, the body abruptly slows the heart.”

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 Suspension Trauma

 Worker on the condition/state of suspension trauma has these

unfortunate situation;
1. Suspended in an upright posture with legs dangling.
2. Safety harness straps put pressure on the leg veins, which
reducing blood flow to the heart.
3. Harness keeps the worker in an upright position, regardless of
loss of consciousness, thus, in this condition can kill the worker.

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 Suspension Trauma

 Actions to do after the fall

 Workers must be trained to move their legs and try getting
the body to horizontal position.
 Remove the victim ( suspended worker) as soon as
possible.
 Train all personnel (those that work in elevated
workplaces) on the safety techniques, inform them that
suspension greater than five (5) minutes can be deadly.

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 Suspension Trauma

 Rescue Trauma
 If worker is suspended long and has lose consciousness,
rescue personnel must be careful in handling, if failed, then
the rescued person may die.
 Post rescue death is most likely caused by the heart’s
inability to tolerate the abrupt increase in blood flow to the
right side of the heart after removal from the harness.
 Recommended procedures are to take from 30 to 40
minutes to move the victim from kneeling to sitting position.

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 Suspension Trauma
For Harness Rescues
• Rescuers must be aware that post-rescue death may occur if
victims are moved to a horizontal position too rapidly.
• The blood that is trapped in the legs may not be in very good
condition, and may even kill the person if we let it all pour
back into their brain!
• This is called the ‘reflow syndrome’– you will not be able to
control it once it starts, and the patient will die.
• Reflow syndrome can be prevented if care is taken when
rescuing.

Anyone released from immobile suspension

should be kept in a sitting position for at
least 30 minutes Department of Labor and Employment
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 Suspension Trauma

 Preventing “Reflow syndrome”

 Keep the victim in a sitting position
with the trunk upright, and the legs
bent at the knees (W-position).
 This allows a small amount of
blood to go to the brain, and the
greater part remains in the legs.

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 Lesson summary
 Develop a fall protection plan
 Hierarchy of fall protection controls
 Fall restraint and PFAS components.
 Rescue victim of suspension trauma
 Safety requirements of both horizontal and vertical
lifelines.
 Safety standards in the installation of wire rope clips.
 Suspension trauma or harness hang syndrome.
 Brief discussion of harness rescue.

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 References:
 Health and Safety Construction code of practice (British
Standards)
 ANSI Z 359.1
 D.O. 128-13 OSH Standards
 Best Practice on Working on Roofs ( NEW Zealand)

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 Department of Labor and Employment
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Maraming Salamat!
Website: www.oshc.dole.gov.ph
Email: [email protected]

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