What’s “Personal fall arresting system”, “Safety Belt” and “anchorage system”?

Personal fall arresting system is formed when a safety belt works with an appropriate anchorage system.

Personal fall arresting system = safety belt (i.e Safety harnesses) + anchorage system

Classification of Safety Belts   x5

Safety belts can be classified under various national standards as :-

1. Safety-harness or full body harness
2. Semi-harness or chest harness
3. General purpose safety belt
4. Work positioning belt, pole safety belt, or linesman safety belt
5. Rescue harness

These safety belt work with lanyards, fixed anchorages, indepedent lifeines, or fall arresters. It is important that full investigations be conducted before purchase of safety belts and selection of anchorage system to determine the correct type of appliances that most suit the clss of work and the environmental conditions.

Safety Harness or Full Body Harness

Safety harnesses = Thigh straps (股帶) + Shoulder straps (肩帶) + Safety lanyards (安全懸掛繩)

Two common types of anchorage system :

1. Safety harnesses →  anchorage points (繫穩點) via : D-ring
   OR
2. Safety harnesses → Indepedent safety line (獨立安全繩) via positioning devices

 

In general, “safety harnesses (安全吊帶)” are harnesses incorportating “thigh straps (股帶)” and “shoulder straps (肩帶)” used in conjunction with “safety lanyards (安全懸掛繩)”, for attachment to “anchorage points (繫穩點)”or”safety line (安全繩)”.

The D-ring or other equivalent facility provided for the attachment of the “lanyard (懸掛繩)” is located in the upper part of the harness so that angle formed between the spine of a suspended user and the safety lanyard does not exceed a certain angle specified by the national standards.

All straps (所有帶), including any waist belt (腰帶), shall be capable of adjustment to fit the user and mean of adjustment shall be provided. The harness may be incorporated within a garment.

The harness should provide support for the body around the lower chest, over the shoulders and around the thighs.

Selection of the type of anchorages

The selection of the type of anchorages will depend on the nature and location of the task and the type of construction of the building or supporting structures. Prior to selecting an anchorage, an assessment of the workplace conditions should be made by a competent person. The equipment and anchorage point must match the work situation and workplace environmental factors.

Vertical Indepedent Lifeline

Indepedent lifeline = lanyard + positioning devices (e.g rope chuck, rope grab, rope adjuster)

Indepedent lifeline works with a lanyard and a positioning devices such as a “rope chuck (繩索夾頭)”,”rope grab (繩索抓鉤)” or “rope adjuster (繩索調節器)”, the upper end of which is securely attached to a structural anchorage point.

The lifeline can be of fibre rope or metal cables. The minimum diameter of a fibre rope life line is 15.9 mm under ANSI;

Metal cables used for lifeline shall have a minimum diameter of 8 mm and a minimum static breaking strength of 25 kN when tested in accordance with EN 12385-1:2002.