One of the biggest causes for injuries or even death on a construction jobsite are fall related accidents. A few simple steps can be taken with your fall protection harness to greatly reduce some of these potential risk. We were surprised to learn how big of a problem just proper fit for a Fall Protection Harness can be and how dangerous it is to improperly wear a harness. Our next installment of On the Job Safety Tips with Safex (Safety Consultants) video is on Proper Fit and Daily Inspection for your fall protection harnesses.
One of the most concerning things we learned from our conversation with Travis was about fit and just how important keeping that D-Ring high on the back. We have often seen that D-ring sagging lower on the back with additional weight of lanyards or SRL which actually can cause major injuries in a fall, including a broken back or worse. That is terrifying that even with a harness on you might have serious life changing injuries in a fall.
One way to increase the likelihood that the D-ring will be in the proper location in event of an accident is with a better fitting harnesses. This is one of those instances we like where the safer option is also what the users prefer, win win for safety directors and users. The X shape shoulder pad yoke for instance can relieve some of the pressure of wearing a harness all day, often looked at as a comfort feature but by encouraging a snug fit also helps keeps that D-ring where it is supposed to be.
For harness compliance these yokes are not required, so every fall protection manufacturer offers several harness options without them. FallTech offers the FTBasic 7007 ($24) and Contractor 7016 ($32) which certainly meet code and absolutely can be fit correctly but just have webbing over the shoulders. For a few bucks more the Contractor+ 7016B ($48) with the yoke adds comfort and promotes a better fit. The harness options really take off from there with dozens of models for more comfort, even better fit, tougher materials, lighter weight, additional connection points, etc.
On a related topic, FallTech has 2 nice videos below that talk about calculating clearfall distance we found enlightening, one for lanyard use the other for SRLs, both less than 2 minutes. Of course these are just a few safety concerns to be aware of for fall protection, coming up with a proper fall protection plan for your team is something that should be handled by a “competent person” in fall protection, either an internal safety person or from an outside company like our friends at Safex. This person should also do training for your team on how to properly do the full daily inspections before using the equipment.
If you have questions about FallTech products themselves call the pros at Ohio Power Tool 800-242-4424 they are always happy to help find the right answers.
Calculating Clearfall Distances with SRLs
Caluclutaing Clearfall Distances with Lanyards
