Fall arrest system explanation
Is there a guide out there that can simply explain the different types of fall restraint, arrest, and whatever else there may be? There seem to be quite a few and I have trouble keeping them straight and the appropriate application for each
Comments (3)
Fall restraint stops a fall from happening. Fall arrest will "catch" a fall as it happens.
A tether (non-shock absorbing lanyard) and a retractable lifeline are fall restraint, because they will stop you from falling. A 6 ft shock absorbing lanyard is a fall arrest because you will fall, but the lanyard will catch you mid fall.
Think of it like this, you have an employee in an aerial lift, the lift jerks up and down. A fall restraint will prevent the employee from being ejected from the lift, a fall arrest will eject the employee and leave them hanging there. This is why you should always ONLY use retractables and tethers in aerial lifts.
This looks like a decent well rounded read on fall protection:
https://safetyequipment.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Fall_UseGuide-2015.pdf