SAFETY & TOOLS
Gaining an edge over risk
Celine Verdot, global product management leader for fall protection at Honeywell Industrial Safety, explores
how upcoming standards, regulations and technology can help protect workers on rooftops
The latest figures from the Health
and Safety Executive show
that the UK safety industry is
moving in the right direction
when it comes to tackling falls from
height. These no longer represent the
main cause of workplace-related deaths
– last year the number of fatalities
resulting from falls was the lowest on
record. However, while these statistics
are encouraging, this type of accidents
still resulted in 25 workers losing
their lives, so there is still room for
improvement. Falls from roofs continue
to be one of the most common causes of
workplace death and serious injury.
One of the key challenges for workers
operating near edges is finding the
right anchor point for their personal
fall protection equipment (PFPE), which
usually includes a harness and a fall
arrester such as a self-retracting lifeline
(SRL). In many roofing applications
horizontal anchorage – at floor or
shoulder level – is the only option.
However, in the event of a fall, huge
forces are brought to bear on the lifeline
and, when stretched over an edge,
significant additional strain is placed
upon the equipment, potentially causing
the lanyard to weaken or even sever.
That’s why using PFPE that meets edgetesting
requirements is crucial.
SRLs currently don’t need to undergo
an edge test in order to be used when the
anchor point is positioned at ground or
shoulder level. However, in the future,
a likely revision of the current EN360
standard will force personal protective
equipment (PPE) manufacturers to edgetest
any fall arrester to be used in such
applications. This change in standards
is designed to give safety managers and
workers operating near edges further
assurance that the PFPE they are using
is entirely fit-for-purpose and will not
break in case of a fall.
Another important piece of legislation,
the new PPE regulation (EU) 2016/425,
mandates that any new PPE has to be
recertified every five years, obliging
manufacturers to comply with the most
up-to-date industry standards. It also
requires for manufacturers, importers
and distributors of PPE to provide more
comprehensive technical documentation
and instructions including “the proper
way of putting on the body harness and
of attaching the connection system to the
reliable external anchorage point”.
This is crucial as a wrong anchor point
can result in the so-called ‘pendulum
“Legislation and
technology can both
play a key role in driving
continuous improvement in
safety at height”
effect’ where, unless the anchor is
positioned directly overhead, the worker
who falls will swing back and forth like a
pendulum. This can cause serious injuries
if they strike nearby surfaces such as a
wall or protruding beam. The integration
of PPE and collective protective
equipment (CPE) can play an important
role in addressing such hazards.
For example, lightweight brackets that
support overhead anchors and that can
easily be attached directly to the building
structure and quickly moved from one
position to another enable workers to
gain easy access to an overhead anchor
point. Additionally, systemised and
easy-to-install edge protection solutions
are gradually replacing more traditional
scaffolding tubes to provide workers at
risk of falling over an edge additional
protection.
Tackling the risks that can arise after
a fall occurs is also paramount. Hanging
for prolonged periods of time can be
extremely dangerous for the worker and
potentially lead to ‘suspension trauma’
(loss of consciousness due to pooling of
blood in the legs). Harnesses equipped
with release straps enable workers to easily
insert their feet into loops to reach an
upright position, minimising pressure on
the upper part of the body while ensuring
normal blood circulation to the legs.
Since working at height often takes
place beyond the supervision of safety
managers, training to instill good
behavior is vital to a preventative
approach. However, emerging
technology also offers new ways for
monitoring the on-site use of equipment
more closely than previously possible.
Connected safety solutions, including fall
detection and alarms that automatically
notify first-responders, are being
introduced, while sensors embedded in
harnesses can trigger a tightening of an
SRL if a worker moves too close to an
edge. Additionally, it is now possible to
integrate radio-frequency identification
(RFID), sensors into PFPE which,
combined with software and cloud
technology, enable safety managers to
gather data informing their approach
to equipment selection, training, usage
and maintenance.
While waiting for the widespread
application of such technology, however,
it is vital that employers gain a greater
understanding of the risks relating to
edges and the latest regulatory changes
that demand more rigorous testing
and maintenance of personal fall arrest
equipment. Legislation and technology
can both play a key role in driving
continuous improvement in safety at
height, which will ultimately ensure
workers operating near edges are fully
protected. For manufacturers of PPE,
this presents a unique opportunity to
reassess fall protection and take PFPE
to the next level. This is essential to
give safety managers and workers
the confidence that, should the worst
happen, there is a level of redundancy
built in to the products that will help
keep them protected while working
near edges.
w www.honeywellsafety.com
An edge
application
from
Honeywell
Industrial
Safety
106 www.rcimag.co.uk July 2018
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