It is important that we take care of ourselves when we do stressful or unsafe work. Fortunately, there are a lot of protective devices that help us with just this.
However, it is necessary to be aware that the protective equipment itself can be stressful for our body. Therefore, there are a number of rules and legislation in the area that must protect us from damage from the equipment that protects us from the work we do.
Fall protection is no exception, and therefore we understand if you are in doubt about when it is necessary to use fall protection.
We will do our best to give you an overview of the rules and make you a little smarter about when to use fall protection.

In these situations, you must use fall protection

The immediate answer to when you should use fall protection is short: You must use fall protection when you work at height and there are no other options to protect against falling. This means that fall protection is only used if it is not possible to use railings, personal lifts or scaffolding.
We must therefore emphasize that fall protection is an emergency solution that you can resort to when the above is not an option.
Having said that, fall protection is an important protective device, as it precisely protects you, should the accident happen and the work ends in a crash.
For short-term work or movement on roofs, it is permitted to use fall protection equipment as the only safety solution. This is understood as work tasks that take less than 4 man-hours overall.
It is also mandatory, as far as possible, to have signage in work areas where fall protection must be used, so that you, as an employee, are never in doubt as to whether you must use this safety equipment.

Fall protection equipment: Several different types

Fall protection equipment consists of a number of individual parts that you put together as needed, i.e. based on what work you have to do. It is therefore neither necessary nor safe to use all parts combined as fall protection. You can read about which parts to use when under the section "Use the right fall protection for the job".

The fall protection equipment consists of these individual parts:

• Harness : This sits around the chest, waist, seat and thighs.
• Support belt : The belt sits like a strap around the waist.
• Line : This connects your harness or belt to the other parts of the fall protection equipment.
• Fall absorber : As the name suggests, this dampens the force should you fall. The braking is thus not so abrupt, and damage is reduced.

The fall arrester is important when working where you are at risk of free fall. At the safety giant, we have several different fall arresters.

Fall protection also consists of:

• A coupling element: This connects the various sub-elements of the fall protection equipment.
• Automatic catch device : Limits the fall by keeping the line taut during work.
• The anchor point: Must be able to absorb a force of at least 1200 kg in the event of a crash, as it is this that holds the safety equipment in place.

The anchor point must therefore be strong and stable. Do not use pipes of any kind or other unstable objects to attach your line to. Optimally, the anchor point is placed vertically above head height, so that the drop is as short as possible.

How to use fall protection equipment

There are very precise rules and duties associated with the use of fall protection.

You must not and should not use the equipment without having familiarized yourself properly with how it works. Likewise, you and those around you while you carry out the work must have a clear plan for how to act in connection with an accident.

There is also a requirement that you use the equipment during the entire work process. You therefore put it on immediately at the start of work and keep it on during the entire work process.

If the work requires you to use a harness as part of the equipment, it is important that the harness fits very close to the body, and that you must not wear loose clothing under the harness. There must only be room for a flat hand between your body and the harness.

With a harness, the line must be attached so that you will hang vertically in the event of a fall. Also remember that the line must be fall-absorbed, so that the shock of the fall is absorbed as much as possible.

The line, including any fall arrester, must not exceed two metres, regardless of whether the purpose of the equipment is to stop or prevent a fall.

Use the right fall protection for the job

It is important that you are aware of the risks associated with the work you have to do. Be aware of what you need to be protected against and use a fall arrester that is suitable for the job:

At risk of free fall

If the fall arrester must stop a possible fall, as is the case during work where there is a risk of free fall, you must use a full-body harness and safety line with fall mitigation. It can, for example, be the case if you have to work on a roof.

Do not use a support belt to arrest a fall.

When there is no risk of free fall

Must not be secured against free fall, i.e. if there is no risk of falling more than a maximum of 0.5 metres, you can use a support belt to fasten the line in.

This type of fall protection equipment is not intended to stop a fall, but rather to keep you from getting near places that can trigger a fall: holes, edges without railings, etc.

When lowering or lifting

Should a person be lowered or lifted – e.g. down and up a well - the same guidelines apply as when stopping a fall: You must therefore use a harness and safety line.

Obligations and rules for fall protection

It can be taxing on the body to use fall protection, both mentally and physically, and it may therefore be necessary to have shorter working hours or an increased number of breaks, during which other work can be carried out in the meantime.

Ensure that all individual parts of the equipment are CE marked, and there must be a registration card for each individual component of the equipment.

The equipment here at Sikkerhedsgianten naturally meets all requirements and regulations regarding safety.

Always remember to follow the supplier's instructions for maintenance etc., which must be written in Danish, so that you are sure that your equipment is in order. Please also make sure to check your equipment before use.

Please note that persons under 18 may not use the equipment unless it is part of their training. In that case, the person must be over 15.

Read more about the use of fall protection as well as rules and obligations at the Norwegian Labor Inspectorate's website .