Harness, lanyard, and anchor

Falls 5 min 29 CFR 1926.502

Why it matters

Fall arrest is only as strong as the anchor, the harness, and the lanyard you clipped this morning. The anchor has to hold 5,000 pounds per worker, or be designed by a qualified person with a safety factor of at least two. Limit the free fall to 6 feet.

The talk

The harness is already on, but the leg straps hang loose. You clip the lanyard and walk the edge to set a sheet or a piece of steel. The closest thing to clip to is a vent pipe, so that is where the hook goes. The next person clips to the guardrail. A third person clips to the scaffold frame because the tube looks thick. Nobody looked at the stitching before they left the ground. If you step off, the free fall runs long before the lanyard goes tight. The gear is on your body. The anchor was never meant to catch you.

A personal fall arrest anchor must hold 5,000 pounds per worker, or be designed and used under a qualified person as part of a complete system with a safety factor of at least two. Limit the free fall to 6 feet. Use a full-body harness for fall arrest, not a body belt. A body belt is the wrong gear for stopping a fall. Inspect the harness, the lanyard, and the anchor before use. Look for cuts, worn webbing, bent hardware, and a hook that does not lock. Do not tie off to a vent pipe, a guardrail, or a scaffold frame unless a qualified person has approved that anchor. Those parts were not put there to catch a person. If the qualified person has not said yes, pick another anchor.

Before you leave the ground or the safe deck today, put on a full-body harness and snug the straps so you cannot slip out. Check the harness, the lanyard, and the anchor. Clip only to an anchor that can hold 5,000 pounds per worker, or to one a qualified person has designed for this system with a safety factor of at least two. Set the connection so a fall does not drop you more than 6 feet before it starts to catch. If the only thing in reach is a vent pipe, a guardrail, or a scaffold frame, stop and ask. Do not clip there because it is close. If the webbing is cut or the hook will not lock, take that gear out and get a replacement before you go up. Tell the foreman if you cannot find a good anchor.

Key points

An anchor must hold 5,000 pounds per worker, or be designed by a qualified person with a safety factor of at least two.
Limit the free fall to 6 feet.
Use a full-body harness for fall arrest, not a body belt.
Inspect the harness, the lanyard, and the anchor before use.
Do not tie off to a vent pipe unless a qualified person approved it.
Do not tie off to a guardrail or a scaffold frame unless a qualified person approved it.
If the webbing is cut or the hook will not lock, do not use that gear.

Do this

Wear a full-body harness for fall arrest.
Inspect the harness, lanyard, and anchor before you clip in.
Use an anchor that meets the 5,000-pound rule or a qualified person's design.
Keep the free fall to 6 feet.
Ask before you clip to anything that was not built as an anchor.

Do not do this

Do not use a body belt for fall arrest.
Do not tie off to a vent pipe, a guardrail, or a scaffold frame unless a qualified person approved that anchor.
Do not skip the look at webbing, hardware, and the hook.
Do not set up a free fall longer than 6 feet.
Do not clip to a handy pipe because the real anchor is a few steps away.

Talk about it

What are we using as anchors on this job today, and who approved them?
Where could a fall drop someone more than 6 feet before the lanyard catches?
Which harnesses or lanyards failed the look-over and need to come out?

This is a short crew briefing. It does not replace a competent person, training, or the law.

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