12/27/2016

Section151Clearance,maximumarrestingforceandswing
Subsection151(1)Clearancedistance
Toensurethesafetyofafallenworker,twoconditionsmustbemet.Thefirstconditionisthattheworkers
personalfallarrestsystemisarrangedsothattheworkercannothittheground,anobjectwhichposesan
unusualpossibilityofinjury,oralevelbelowtheworkarea.Thesecondconditionistheremustbesufficient
clearancedistanceincludingasafetyfactor.Figure9.14showsthatusinga1.8metreslong(6feet)lanyard,a
workerneedsapproximately5.7metres(18.5feet)to6.8metres(22.1feet)ofclearspacebelowthelevelof
theanchorpoint.
Clearancedistanceusingaverticallifesafetyrope
Themostimportantconsiderationwhenusingverticallifesafetyropestoarrestfallsisknowinghowmuch
clearanceisrequired.Ingeneral,verticallifesafetyropesrequiremoreclearancethanselfretractingdevices
andshouldthereforeonlybeusedwhenlargeclearancesareavailable.
Thelockoffdistanceofthefallarrester,lanyardlength,stretchoftheverticallifesafetyrope,swingdrop,
deploymentoftheshockabsorberandthetypeofharnessthattheworkeriswearingallcontributetothe
requiredclearancedistance.Thefollowingexampleillustrateshowtocalculatetherequiredclearance
distancebelowtheworkingplatforminaccordancewiththemethodsdescribedinCSAStandardZ259.16
04,DesignofActiveFallProtectionSystems.
Figure9.14Clearancedistance

Assumptions:
Theworkeris1.8m(6ft.)tallusinga1.8m(6ft.)longlanyard.Thecombined
weightoftheworker,clothing,andtoolbeltisatleast100kg(220lbs).
ALengthoflanyard1.8m(6ft.)
BShockabsorberpullingapart1.1m(3.6ft)CSAE4orANSIcompliant
shockabsorber1.75m(5.7ft)CSAE6orEuropeanENcompliantshock
absorber.
CHarnessstretchplusDringsliding0.3m(1ft.)fornormalharnessand0.75
m(2.5ft)forstretchwebbingharness
DHeightofworker1.8m(6ft)
ESafetyfactorclearancebelowfeetof0.9m(3ft)
FA+B+C+D+EMinimumclearancedistancevariesbetween5.7m(18.5ft)
and6.8m(22.1ft)dependingonthecomponentsusedinthesystem
Clearancedistanceexample:
AworkerusesaClassE4energyabsorbinglanyardthatis1.8metreslongand
candeployupto1.07metresataforceof4kN.Thelanyardconnectsthedorsal
Dringontheworkersharnesstoanautomaticfallarresterthatisknowntolockontotheverticallifeline
within0.3metres.Theautomaticfallarresterwillinitiallyhangthelanyardlength(1.8m)belowtheDring
1/4

12/27/2016

ontheharness.Therigidanchorageoftheverticallifelineis29.7metresabovethelocationofthefall
arresterattheonsetofthefall.Thelifelineisknowntostretch22percentat8kNand15percentat4kN.
Theworkeris8.4metreslaterallyfromtheanchorandthereforesubjecttoaswingdropdistanceof1.2
metres.Theworkeriswearingacomfortharnessthatwillstretch0.75metresatpeakfallarrestforces,and
mayfallfromakneelingposition.
Thelengthoflifelineabovethefallarresterafterithaslockedontothelifeline=29.7metres+0.3metre
lockoffdistanceforthefallarrester=30m
Clearancecalculation:
Freefall=2xlanyardlength+lockoffofthefallarrester=2x
1.8m+0.3m

3.90m

Stretchoftheverticallifesafetyrope=15%oftheropelength=
15%of30m

4.50m

Maximumdeploymentoftheshockabsorber

1.07m

SwingDrop

1.20m

Stretchoftheharness

0.75m

Stretchoutoftheworker(fallingfromakneelingposition)

0.75m

MandatorySafetyBuffer

0.60m

TotalRequiredClearancebelowtheworkingplatform

12.77m

Whiletheaboveexampleisanextremecase,itillustrateshowchoicesofequipmentandequipment
configurationaffecttherequiredclearancedistance.Italsoprovidesatemplateforcalculatingclearancesfor
otherconfigurationsandchoicesofequipment.
Strategiesforreducingtherequiredclearancedistanceincludeusingshortlanyards,lowstretchlifesafety
ropeandconventionalharnesses(0.3metrestretch).Workerscanalsobetrainedtomanuallyparkthefall
arresterashighuptheropeaspossibleoncetheygettotheirworkingposition.Thiswillhelpreducetheir
freefalldistanceintheeventofafall.
Theabovemethodologywillshowthatapproximately3.0metresistheminimumachievableclearancewhen
fallingfromastandingpositionwhileusinganautomaticfallarresterwitha0.3metreshockabsorbing
lanyard,eveniftheverticallifesafetyropehasnegligiblestretchandthereisnopotentialforswingfalls.
Notethattheabovecalculationassumesfull(1.07metre)deploymentoftheshockabsorber,whichisthe
worstcasescenario.
Subsection151(2)
Situationsmayariseinwhichapersonalfallarrestsystemmustbeusedwithoutashockabsorber.Themost
commoncircumstancesencounteredisalackofadequateclearancedistance.Allelsebeingequal,
eliminatingashockabsorberreducestherequiredclearancedistancebyupto1.1metres(3.5feet)(see
Figure9.14).
Iftheshockabsorberisremovedfromthepersonalfallprotectionsystem,thentheworkersfreefalldistance
mustbelimitedto1.2metres.Evenwiththisfixeddistance,employersandworkersneedtobeawarethat,
dependingonthetypeoflanyardselected,themaximumarrestingforceof6kNstatedinsubsection151(3)
canbeexceeded.Todeterminethearrestingforce,thefollowingequationshouldbeused:

2/4

12/27/2016

Itiscrucialthattheemployercarefullyselectthetypeoflanyardusedinsuchsituationsanddeterminethe
maximumarrestingforcesothatworkersarenotendangered.
Subsection151(3)Maximumarrestingforce
Maximumarrestingforceistheshortduration(millisecondstotenthsofasecond),peakdynamicforce
actingonaworkersbodyastheworkersfallisarrested.Themaximumarrestingforcetowhichaworker
canbeexposedduringfallarrestinAlbertaislimitedto6kN(1350lbs).
Researchstudieshaveshownthattheshortdurationforcesthathappenduringfallarrestareunlikelytocause
injuryiftheyactverticallyupwardsthroughthebuttocksandspineandarelimitedtonomorethan9kN
(2000lbs).The6kNlimitisthereforeconsideredsafe,butaswasdiscoveredduringthestudies,issubjectto
thefollowingconditions:
(a)themaximumarrestingforceisappliedupwardsthroughthepelvicarea
(b)theworkersphysicalconditionissufficienttowithstandsuchajoltand
(c)thedurationofthemaximumarrestingforceislimitedtoafractionofasecond.
Afallarrestsystemthatcorrectlyusesashockabsorberwilllimitthemaximumarrestingforceundernormal
circumstancestoeither4kN(900lbs)or6kN(1350lbs),providingamarginofsafety.
Maximumarrestingforceisdeterminedbytheworkersweight,thelengthofthelanyard,andtheabilityof
thefallarrestsystemtoabsorbtheenergyofthefall.Theanchorshouldbeabovetheworkposition,the
lengthofthelanyardkeptasshortaspossible(whilestillpermittingtheworktobeperformedsafely)andthe
fallarrestsystemshouldalmostalwaysincludeashockabsorber.Readersarereferredtotheexplanationfor
subsection151(2)toseetheequationoftenusedtocalculatethearrestingforce.
ThiseditionoftheOHSCodeacceptsamaximumarrestingforce(MAF)of6kNundernormal
circumstancesbecause
(a)the6kNMAFvaluehasbeensuccessfullyusedinEuropeandotherjurisdictionsformanyyears.The8
kNvaluepreviouslycitedintheOHSCodeappearstohavebeenaNorthAmericanphenomenon,
(b)thelowerMAFistechnicallyachievablewithtodaysfallprotectionequipment,and
(c)thelowerMAFmeansthatworkersareexposedtoalowerarrestingforce,reducingthepotentialfor
injury.
Subsection151(3)incorporatesthischangebutincludesaconditionthatreflectsthefactthatunderworst
caseconditions(awetandthenfrozenshockabsorber),theMAFcanbeasgreatas8kNforatypeE6shock
absorber.Readersarereferredtosection142.3foradiscussionofE4andE6shockabsorbers.
Subsections151(4),151(5)and151(6)

3/4

12/27/2016

Asrequiredbysubsections151(4)and151(5),aworkermustusetheshortestlengthlanyardthatstillallows
theworkertoperformhisorherworksafelyandthelanyardmustbeattachedtoananchornolowerthanthe
workersshoulderheightunlessananchoratshoulderheightisnotavailable.Whenananchoratshoulder
heightisnotavailable,thelanyardmustbesecuredtoananchorpointashighasreasonablypracticable.
Tyingtoananchoratfootlevelisdangerous.AshockabsorberapprovedtotheCSAStandardforshock
absorberswillsafelyabsorbenergybasedona2metrefallofa100kgworker.Buttyinga1.8metrelanyard
atfootlevelcansubjecttheshockabsorbertoa3.6metrefreefall.Unlessspecificallydesignedforthistype
offreefall,theshockabsorberswebbingmayfullyextendwithoutabsorbingalltheenergyofthefall,
resultinginabounceatthebottom.Theremainingenergy(andtherecouldbeagreatdealofit)goesinto
theworker,potentiallycausingseriousinjury.
ShockabsorbersapprovedtoCENStandardEN355:2002arecurrentlyavailableinthemarketplacethat
willaccommodatea3.6metrefreefallandstilllimitthemaximumarrestingforceona140kgworkerto6
kN.Employersusingtheseproductsmusttakeintoaccounttheextraclearancethattheseproductsrequire.A
Europeanshockabsorberwillelongateupto1.75metres(5.75feet)inafall.
Theproblemofsecuringthelanyardtoananchoratanappropriateheightmaybesolvedbyusinga
horizontallifelinepassingacrosstheworkarea(seeFigure9.15),ahitchingpostthatraisestheanchorpoint,
oraselfretractingdeviceattachedtoananchorlocatedwellaboveshoulderheight.Othersolutionsmaybe
possible.
Figure9.15Exampleofusingaflexiblehorizontallifelinetosafelymovethroughaworkarea

4/4