Guidelines on the Safe Use of Fall Arrest Equipment③

Guidelines on the Safe Use of Fall Arrest Equipment③

(Labour Standards Bureau Notification No. 0622-2 of June 22, 2018)

V. Use of fall arrest equipment

1. Method of using fall arrest equipment

(1) Wearing fall arrest equipment

1. Check the instruction manual and make sure the parts necessary for safety are all present.
2. For the full harness type, wear the equipment snugly and without any looseness so the full harness does not ride up and lose the ability to maintain a safe posture when arresting a fall. Also, do not remove any parts necessary for safety such as the chest strap. The body belt type should be worn snugly, as close to the hipbone as possible, at a position where it will not come off toward the feet and will avoid slippage toward the chest as far as possible when arresting a fall.

3. Buckles should be used correctly, and the end of each belt or strap should be securely passed through the belt loop. To fasten buckles properly, it is desirable to use a structure that does not allow incorrect fastening, such as a one-touch buckle. The full harness type usually has two or more buckles, so be careful not to mistakenly fasten them in the wrong combination.
4. For work positioning equipment, correctly attach the length adjuster to the ring, check the operation of the latch unit, and visually check that the belt end and work clothes are not caught.
5. To prevent the hook, etc. from being mistakenly attached to anything other than the ring during work via work positioning, do not attach any equipment to which the hook, etc. can be attached to the ring or a belt/strap near the ring.
6. After wearing work positioning equipment, the user should place his/her weight on the equipment under the conditions of use, while still on the ground, and inspect each part to make sure there is nothing wrong.
7. If fall arrest equipment is not used after its worn, prevent the lanyard from hanging down by attaching the hook, etc. to a ring or putting it in the storage pouch, etc.
   Keep the rope of the work positioning equipment from hanging down by attaching it at the shoulder or attaching the hook to a ring and adjusting rope length with the length adjuster.

(2) Mounting equipment for fall arrest equipment

1. Mounting equipment for fall arrest equipment must have no risk of the lanyard coming loose or off, and be strong enough to fully withstand the impact force at the time of fall arrest.
   Hooks, etc. should not be attached if the strength of mounting equipment cannot be determined. If a hook, etc. must unavoidably be attached to mounting equipment of unknown strength due to the work situation, measures should be taken to reduce the impact load at the time of fall arrest, within the scope of the strength of the mounting equipment, by for example attaching the hook, etc. at a position that is as high as possible.
2. If there is a sharp corner in the vicinity of mounting equipment for fall arrest equipment, take measures such as masking so that the lanyard ropes, etc. do not directly touch the sharp corner.

(3) How to use fall arrest equipment (when not used together with work via work positioning)

1. Select mounting equipment located as high as possible.
2. When attaching to a vertical structure or diagonal member, etc., set so the lanyard does not shift or rub against the structure during fall arrest.

3. As far as possible, attach fall arrest
equipment at a location that will prevent the worker from swinging like a pendulum and colliding with objects in case of a fall.

4. The auxiliary rope is used for reattaching when moving. It should not be used during ordinary work.

(4) How to use fall arrest equipment (when used together with work via work positioning)

1. As a general rule, select mounting equipment at a position above the head.

2. When attaching to a vertical structure or diagonal member, etc., set so the lanyard does not shift or rub against the structure during fall arrest.

3. When using work positioning equipment, first confirm there is no twisting of the rope. Then visually check that the hook, etc. is securely attached to the ring. Adjust the length of the rope to the minimum length necessary for the work using the length adjuster. When applying your body weight, do not suddenly release your hands and apply weight. Gradually transfer your weight and release your hand after confirming that there is nothing wrong.
4. The work positioning rope can be used to prevent a fall when reattaching while moving. However, another lanyard that meets the requirements as fall arrest equipment must be used when performing work. Length should be kept to the minimum necessary for use while reattaching the work positioning rope.

(5) How to use the hook, etc.

1. The performance of a hook, etc. is specified in terms of the tensile load applied to the mounting point of the rope, etc. and the center of the hook part in a lanyard. The hook, etc. is used while recognizing that it cannot withstand large loads in terms of bending loads and external forces on the latch.
2. Attachment by wrapping around should be avoided as far as possible due to the risk of problems such as lateral bending loads on the hook, etc., or breakage due to stress concentration at sharp corners of the mounting equipment.
   When attaching by wrapping around, take care to understand these problems and avoid them.
3. If the rope, etc. of the lanyard is twisted and entangled with a latch device such as the hook, the latch may deform, break and come off, so be careful.
4. If there is a shock absorber at the mounting point of the hook, etc. of the lanyard, the shock absorber may not function if the hook, etc. is attached to the shock absorber by wrapping around, so do not wrap around.

2. Attachment to a vertical main rope

(1) When attaching the hook, etc. of fall arrest equipment to a vertical main rope, attach the hook, etc. to the mounting equipment installed on the main rope.

(2) As a general rule, only one worker can use a single vertical rope.

(3) Set so the position of mounting equipment installed on the vertical main rope does not go below the position of the ring connecting the lanyard and full harness, etc.

(4) As far as possible, attach fall arrest equipment at a location that will prevent the worker from swinging like a pendulum and colliding with objects in case of a fall.

(5) When using near the lower end of a vertical main rope made of long synthetic fiber rope, be careful to prevent contact with obstacles below because the main rope will stretch more when arresting a fall.

3. Mounting on the horizontal main rope

(1) When there is no nearby structure for attaching the fall arrest equipment, and the work process involves lateral movement, or when it is necessary to move in the lateral direction frequently due to the nature of the work, a horizontal main rope shall be installed at a position higher than the ring connecting the lanyard and full harness, etc., and the hook, etc. of the fall arrest equipment shall be attached to it. When the main rope is installed at a low position due to the structure of the work place, take measures to reduce the fall distance such as using a short lanyard or a winding lanyard with lock function.

(2) As a general rule, there should be only one worker using each span of the horizontal rope.

(3) As far as possible, attach fall arrest equipment at a location that will prevent the worker from swinging like a pendulum and colliding with objects in case of a fall.

(4) When using a synthetic fiber rope for the horizontal main rope, be careful to ensure there is no contact with obstacles below or the ground when arresting a fall.