Taking fall protection to the next level

The fall protection industry has come a long way. We’ve all seen images from the 1920s and 30s showing workers sitting on beams high above the cityscape below. It’s hard to imagine life before the Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1970, a time when fall protection in the workplace was totally unregulated, and employers had little responsibility to safeguard their workers. Of course that old view is gone - when we think of fall protection today, the ultimate goal is to ensure people who work at height are kept safe; we all have responsibility - from health and safety managers to construction workers, facilities managers to specifiers, and even business owners.

The fall protection industry can only be successful if we all continue to take great strides forward. Great products and solutions are obviously important, but there is much more to making sure people go home safely at the end of their working day. So what are the fundamentals of best practice in fall protection?

A true engineering approach

Engineering prowess is of great importance. To develop the best fall protection solutions, a true understanding of the engineering behind them is crucial. Consideration of the application - what it’s for, how and where it will be used is a must, along with how the user will interact with the system. And of course aesthetics play a role; an anchor device may be small, but it sits on top of a structure and is always visible. By focusing on engineering innovation and investing in research and new product development, it's possible to bring the latest and most advanced engineering trends from around the world into the fall protection industry.

Industry standards and guidance

There are two key benchmarks that are important. EN 795 standards govern the testing of anchor devices, and should be considered as an absolute minimum.

EN 795 came into play in 1996, and has recently been updated to EN 795:2012 - with the support of technical standard CEN/TS 16415, it sets out more robust requirements and introduced testing for multiple users for example. EN 795:2012 is becoming more widely recognised and embraced across Europe, and has recently been published in the Official Journal of the PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) Directive.

As well as this, the introduction of ‘The Magenta Book’ - ACR[M]: Testing of Roof Anchors on Roof Systems - in 2009 provided additional guidance to EN standards, recommending the testing of anchor devices on representative roofs. The Magenta Book was developed as a result of limitations in EN 795:1996 and is purely about testing EN 795 rated products on a representative substrate. An imminent update to The Magenta Book will recognise the 2012 changes to EN 795 (and CEN TS/16415), in line with improved test methods and a focus on multi-user solutions.

All fall protection equipment should be tested to at least meet, if not exceed, the very latest testing requirements and guidance. There are a number of considerations to bear in mind when it comes to ensuring the highest standards of manufacture - from the purpose and use of any given product, to ensuring standardised test methods and demonstrating repeatability - it’s all about achieving the most efficient and safest outcomes.

Representative testing

So let’s bring it all to life. How does a fall protection system actually perform on the structure for which it is intended? Once you have invested in the product, it needs to be tested in real world situations to guarantee performance. For us at Latchways that comprises:

• Intended purpose: Understanding the intended purpose and the structure a device will be tested on is the first step, as this will determine the test methods required
• Representative roof test: Extensive testing on complete and representative roofing systems (the actual structure on which it will be used) then gives a full picture of how systems operate in real life. This should take into account the supporting structure - purlins, decks, spacer systems, insulation, waterproof covering etc)
• Dynamic drop test: Conducting a drop test again gives insight into real life scenarios. We recommend using a 300kg mass through a distance of 1.5m - typically there is more than one user on any given roof, and so the drop test should ensure systems can cope with this weight
• Multi-directional testing: It’s impossible to predict the direction of a fall, and so testing needs to encompass all possibilities - in line with, across and at 45 degrees to the seam, profile or deck
• Re-testing: Once a system has passed its initial testing, repeat testing is also important to ensure compatibility with the latest roofing manufacturer developments.

A final message

Latchways urges those responsible for specifying fall protection solutions to be specific in their choices. As an industry we must put engineering at the heart of how we do business, we must embrace the very best of standards and we must employ more specific test methods. As an industry we can then ensure the best possible outcomes.