Personal Fall Arrest Systems
Fall arrest is of two major types: general fall arrest, such as nets; and personal fall arrest, such as lifelines. The most common manifestation of fall arrest in the workplace is the Personal Fall Arrest System, or PFAS ("lifeline").
Such a system must include 4 elements referred to as ABCDs of Fall Arrest:
- A - Anchorage - a fixed structure or structural adaptation, often including an anchorage connector, to which the other components of the PFAS are rigged.
- B - Body Wear - a full body harness worn by the worker.
- C - Connector - a subsystem component connecting the harness to the anchorage - such as a lanyard.
- D - Deceleration Device - a subsystem component designed to dissipate the forces associated with a fall arrest event.
Each of these elements is critical to the effectiveness of a personal fall arrest system. There are many different combinations of products that are commonly used to assemble a personal fall arrest system, and each must meet strict standards. The specific environment or application generally dictates the combination or combinations that are most appropriate.
Read more about this topic: Fall Arrest
Famous quotes containing the words personal, fall, arrest and/or systems:
“I have enjoyed greatly the second blooming that comes when you finish the life of the emotions and of personal relations; and suddenly you find—at the age of fifty, say—that a whole new life has opened before you, filled with things you can think about, study, or read about.... It is as if a fresh sap of ideas and thoughts was rising in you.”
—Agatha Christie (1891–1976)
“When the flight is not high the fall is not heavy.”
—Chinese proverb.
“An unjust law is itself a species of violence. Arrest for its breach is more so.”
—Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869–1948)
“Our little systems have their day;
They have their day and cease to be:
They are but broken lights of thee,
And thou, O Lord, art more than they.”
—Alfred Tennyson (1809–1892)