WORK AT HEIGHT - 31.01.2012

A fall-arrest harness doesn’t always make it safe

Client and contractor both blamed

The first case involved the installation of pipes in a roof void at an engineering business. Anson Packaging Ltd (A) had engaged the contractor, Cambs Compressor Engineering Ltd (C), to run the new pipes above a suspended ceiling, approximately 6.5 metres from the ground. Crawling boards were placed between beams and the two men carrying out the work wore harnesses. The main flaw in the plan, however, was that there were too few suitable attachment points. So at times both men had to detach themselves completely to move across the void to the work position. As a result, when one of the pair slipped, he fell to the factory floor breaking his back. Both A and C were prosecuted for failing to ensure that the workers were competent and properly equipped to do the work safely.

Tip 1. Harnesses and lines must be treated as a last resort. This is because there’s a danger of the equipment failing or being used incorrectly, the fixing point breaking or staff being injured during the fall.

Tip 2. As this case shows, wearing a harness can create a false sense of security. Check that there’s a safe method of work in practice, not just in theory. Even if the work is being done by contractors rather than your own staff, carry out some basic checks to ascertain that there’s a safe way of doing the job.

Tip 3. Those using harnesses must be appropriately trained (see The next step). They should also be given specific instruction in the particular job, including the need to stop work if they are unable to maintain a connection to a fixing point at any time.

Case two

In the second example, a maintenance worker was killed because, amongst other factors, there was a failure to select the correct lanyard. The accident happened in a hopper used to store limestone fines. Whilst two workers were inside it trying to remove compacted material, the pile on which they were standing collapsed. Both workers were wearing harnesses but one of the lines allowed too much movement. Neal Webber was killed when he was buried by twelve tonnes of limestone dust. His colleague survived because he had a shorter fixed length of line.

Tip 1. If you wish the lanyard to hold a person in a safe position, rather than using it to arrest a potential fall, then a fixed-length should be used. For example, this could be used to prevent a worker from reaching the edge of a flat roof.

Tip 2. If you need a harness and line to arrest a fall, such as during scaffolding work, the lanyard used to attach the harness to the fixing point must incorporate an energy absorber. When calculating fall distances, it’s essential that the length of the fully extended lanyard is taken into account.

Tip 3. An alternative worth considering is an “Inertia Reel” which works in a similar way to a car seat belt. The device extends and retracts to allow the user reasonable mobility but in the event of a fall the clutch mechanism activates the brake, minimising the fall distance. These are especially useful where they can be mounted overhead.

For further information on harness training, visit http://healthandsafety.indicator.co.uk (HS 10.10.06).