Fall prevention and personal protective equipment: safety belts and lanyards, independent lifelines, anchorage points, and working platforms
Fall prevention and personal protective equipment is the domain that tests the hierarchy of control and the correct use of belts, lanyards, lifelines and platforms on facade work.
Hierarchy and platform
First avoid work at height; then prevent falls with a properly designed working platform, guardrails, toe boards and mesh; fall arrest is the last line. The platform must be wide enough for the task, close-boarded, clear of debris and safely accessible. Guardrails need a top rail, mid-rail and toe board, with mesh where objects or persons could fall.
Belts, lanyards and lifelines
A safety belt or full-body harness must fit and be connected by a lanyard with a shock absorber to a suitable anchor. The preferred anchor is an independent lifeline fixed to a structural element and completely separate from the scaffold. The lifeline must be protected from abrasion, have a certified anchor, and be short enough that a fall does not reach the ground or a lower platform. Use double lanyards for transition so one connection remains attached.
Anchors and rescue
Anchor points must be chosen by a competent person and capable of the required load; never use a guardrail, scaffold tube, pipe or window frame unless verified. A fall-arrest system needs a rescue plan: suspension trauma can develop quickly, and the worker may be unconscious.
Worked example
A scaffolder must step from a window to a truss-out platform. The lanyard is clipped to the scaffold standard because it is close. Correct reasoning: the scaffold is the work platform, not an independent anchor; if it moves or collapses, the lanyard goes with it. The scaffolder uses the independent lifeline anchored inside the building, with the lanyard adjusted to limit fall distance, and keeps one connection attached during the transfer.
Traps
Do not use a safety belt as a substitute for guardrails. Do not anchor to a handrail, conduit or temporary pipe. Do not ignore clearance below the anchor, and do not assume the fire service will rescue a suspended worker in time.