Ensure that personal fall arrest systems will, when stopping a fall:

• Limit maximum arresting force to 1,800 pounds.
• Be rigged such that an employee can neither free fall more than 6 feet nor contact any lower level.
• Bring an employee to a complete stop and limit maximum deceleration distance to 3½ feet.
• Have sufficient strength to withstand twice the potential impact energy of a worker free falling a distance of 6 feet, or the free fall distance permitted by the system, whichever is less
• Remove systems and components from service immediately if they have been subjected to fall impact, until inspected by a competent person and deemed undamaged and suitable for use.
• Promptly rescue employees in the event of a fall, or assure that they are able to rescue themselves.
• Inspect systems before each use for wear, damage, and other deterioration, and remove defective components from service.
• Do not attach fall arrest systems to guardrail systems or hoists.
• Rig fall arrest systems to allow movement of the worker only as far as the edge of the walking/working surface, when used at hoist areas.

RESOURCES:

• 29 CFR 1926 Subpart M, Fall protection. OSHA Standard.
• 1926.502, Fall protection systems criteria and practices
• 1926.502(d), Personal fall arrest systems
• Interpretations and Clarifications - Subpart M -- Fall Protection (29 CFR 1926.500-503).OSHA, (1995, February).
• Worker Deaths by Falls: A Summary of Surveillance Findings and Investigative Case Reports. US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Publication 2000-116, (2000, September).