A fall protection harness is a critical piece of safety equipment for anyone working at heights. When worn and adjusted correctly fall protection harnesses are designed to distribute impact forces to major bone and muscle groups and away from internal organs. Understanding the elements of the harness and selecting the appropriate harness for the job being done are some of the Body Wear basics in the ABCs of fall protection: Anchorage, Body wear and Connecting device.
Elements of a fall protection harness
- A full body harness includes: shoulder, chest, and leg straps, and at least one D-ring.
- Harnesses can have additional frontal attachments for ladder climbing, decent control for rescue, working positioning, etc.
- Straps can have adjustable buckles, tongue and grommet or quick connects depending on manufacturer.
- Additional accessories can include suspension trauma straps, arch flash coverings, shoulder pads, etc.
Selecting a fall protection harness
The following are some basic considerations when selecting and wearing a fall protection harness:
- Consider future work tasks and refer to the sizing charts provided by the manufacturer when selecting a harness.
- Harnesses have weight limitations. Add any toolbelts, tools, and gear employees wear to account for total weight. Follow manufacturers guidelines when selecting a proper harness.
- Harnesses come in different sizes with some manufacturers designing harnesses specifically for women.
- Harnesses are available for task specific operations such as welding and arch flash.
- Body belts are not appropriate or allowed for usage in a personal fall arrest system.
Wearing a fall protection harness
When a harness is properly donned and adjusted, the D-ring will be between the top of the shoulder blades. The leg straps will be snug around the thighs.
The D-ring between the shoulder blades is used with a connector to arrest a fall. D-rings can be in other positions of a harnesses for use with positioning devices and ladder safety devices.
Wearing a harness that is not property adjusted can subject you to a devasting workplace injury. Ensure your pockets are empty of any sharp items and that you adjust your harness correctly.
See Nationwide’s safety bulletin Properly Wearing a Safety Harness – Nationwide for more details.
Why it matters
Falls from heights continues to contribute to more deaths in construction than any other hazard.1 Falls can occur in a split second, but have long lasting effects, which can include; loss of life, pain and suffering to employees or their families, regulatory fines, project delays, increased insurance costs, etc. Despite improvements in safety awareness, fall protection requirements are consistently one of OSHA’s most cited standards during inspections, complaints, or accident investigations.