So you’ve provided the latest and best fall-arrest systems, good body harness, lanyard with a decelerating device, strong anchorage. Isn’t that enough? Ever thought about what happens when someone falls and ends up 80 feet above grade? Whether it’s steeplejack climbing towers, a painter working on a water tower, or a maintenance worker walking on a pipe rack, if a worker is caught after a fall, OSHA regulations call for “prompt†rescue. What does that mean? How do you achieve it?
Most people don’t consider the need for rescue because they intuitively believe that the fall-arrest equipment implies rescue. While stopping a worker from falling to the ground is, indeed, the first part of a save, the save is not complete until the worker is safely transported to the ground. One recommended goal for providing “prompt†rescue is six minutes.