Working at height is dangerous and complex, requiring special attention, safety precautions, and the right equipment. Whether working on a construction site or performing maintenance in an industrial setting, having the proper tools for the job is essential.
In this blog, we'll explore five of the most important pieces of fall protection equipment that are essential when working at heights.
These include harnesses, lanyards, and vertical, horizontal lifelines. With these items in your toolkit, you can be sure to work safely while taking on any project that involves working above ground level.
Collective Versus Personal Protection
When it comes to fall protection equipment, there are two main types of protection: collective and personal.
Collective fall protection involves the use of guardrails, covers, netting, or other means of preventing falls from heights. When selecting Working at Height Equipment for collective fall protection, factors such as load capacity, stability and weather resistance should be taken into consideration.
Personal fall protection refers to safety measures that an individual can take, such as wearing a harness and using a lanyard. The primary considerations for personal fall protection measures include fit and comfort; all harnesses must be suited to the user’s body size to provide maximum safety and support during use.
Collective fall protection provides a robust, total defence against falls from height, for everybody on the roof without the need for PPE or additional training, whilst personal fall protection allows individual workers to remain safe when carrying out their duty of work.
Kee Line Versus Kee Anchor? Know your Fall Arrest Safety Equipment
Safety Harnesses
Safety harnesses play a crucial role in protecting workers from falling while working at height. These harnesses, typically full-body harnesses, are designed to distribute the force of a fall across the entire body, minimising the risk of injury.
When properly fitted and adjusted, harnesses provide comfortable personal protection when secured to a lanyard and subsequent anchor point or safety lifeline system. Different types of harnesses are available for various job requirements, including those with specialised features such as positioning rings, tool belts, or trauma straps.
Lanyards
Lanyards are used to connect the worker's harness to an anchor point or lifeline. Depending on the work environment and application, they come in various materials, lengths, and styles. They can be used in fall restraint which prevents workers reaching the edge of a roof, thus preventing a fall altogether, or in arrest where Shock-absorbing lanyards are particularly important, as they help to reduce the impact forces generated during a fall, should the anchor system not provide a shock absorbing element.
Horizontal Lifelines
Horizontal lifelines are designed to provide continuous fall protection for workers moving along a horizontal plane, such as rooftops, bridges, or beams.
These systems typically consist of a cable connected to multiple anchor points, allowing workers to safely traverse a large area without disconnecting and reconnecting their lanyards. Horizontal lifelines can be temporary or permanent, depending on the specific requirements of the job site.
Kee Line is hands-free, has undergone testing and received approval for use on various roof styles such as standing seam, membrane, and metal profile. Using a support post, it can be mounted on steel cladding panels, beam/column structures, solid parapet walls, and flat roofs.
Anchor Points
Anchor points, like Kee Anchor, are secure attachment points for the worker's lanyard, providing a stable base for the fall arrest system. Anchor points should be strong enough to withstand the forces generated during a fall and should be positioned to minimise the potential for a swing fall. Permanent anchor points can be installed on structures, while temporary anchor points are available for situations where permanent installation is not feasible.
Fall Arrest Devices
Fall arrest devices, such as self-retracting lifelines (SRLs) or rope grabs, are designed to automatically stop a worker's fall within a short distance. SRLs are equipped with a retractable cable that extends and retracts as the worker moves, while a rope grab moves along a fixed lifeline and locks into place in the event of a fall. These devices help reduce the forces experienced during a fall and prevent workers from hitting the ground or other obstacles below them.
Having the right working at height equipment is crucial for ensuring the safety of workers in elevated environments. Employers should invest in high-quality equipment and provide training to their workforce on the proper use and maintenance of these essential safety tools.
The Perfect Partnership: Horizontal Lifeline Systems and Safety Harnesses
Horizontal lifeline systems and safety harnesses form a powerful safety solution for those working at height.
While the horizontal lifeline system is designed to accommodate lateral movement along a horizontal plane, while the safety harnesses provide a comfortable and secure means of anchoring them to the system.
The Kee Line horizontal lifeline system provides a continuous connection point, allowing workers to move freely across the work area while remaining securely attached to the lifeline. Kee Line is appropriate for use on rooftops, building exteriors, and overhead installations. The system can be directly attached to the roof using a fixed Kee anchor or secured to the building structure using a 'through fix' Kee Anchor.
Kee Line Benefits from:
Continuous, hands-free fall protection system
Tested for diverse roof types such as membrane and metal profile
Ideal for rooftops, building exteriors, and overhead installations
Progressive Absorbing System reduces shock loadings during falls
Supports spans up to 12m and accommodates 3 users
Traveller enables detaching and re-attaching at any point in the system
This working-at-height solution supports up to three users with its Progressive Absorbing System (PAS) technology, offering personal and collective fall protection.
