Personal protective equipment against falls
A personal fall protection equipment ( personal fall protection equipment ) is must use equipment that professional association insured at risk of falling when a technical or organizational fall protection is not possible.
Conditions of use
The people to be secured must be instructed or instructed. They must undergo an occupational medical check-up ( G 41.0 ). Detailed operating instructions based on a risk assessment must be drawn up.
Security obligation
The employers' liability insurance association stipulates from which possible fall height a safety obligation exists: From a height of zero meters above media in which one can sink (water, bulk material ), one meter on exposed staircases, wall penetrations, ledges and on control stands for machines and theirs Entrances from a height of two meters at all other workplaces. An exception (five meters) applies to walls over the hand.
Definition
A distinction is made between fall arrest and retention systems.
Fall arrest systems have the task of safely catching falling people and supporting the entire body in such a way that it is held safely after a fall. For more details, see full body harness .
A restraint system should enable low-risk and low-stress work, with the possibility of a fall being excluded. For more details, see tether .
However, parts of rescue systems also count as PPE, such as rescue belts .
Subsystems
Fall arrest and restraint systems always consist of sub-systems. A first subsystem is a full body harness, another is the anchor point. The third subsystem is the connecting element between the full body harness and the anchor point. A distinction is made between fixed and movable guides, fall arrest devices , in short: HSG and fasteners . Subsystems may be combined with one another regardless of the manufacturer. It is not allowed to combine within a subsystem.
Impact forces
A fall, arrested by PPE against falls, causes impact forces. These must be reduced to a level that is tolerable for the body. Therefore, an energy absorber (e.g. energy absorber ) must be integrated in every fall arrest system. In addition, the impact forces must be transferred to parts of the body that can tolerate them, these are the legs and the pelvis ( full body harness ). The maximum impact force specified by European directives and European standards is 6 kN. This is considered to be the force that just doesn't cause any external injuries.
Hanging trauma
Free hanging in the belt is only possible for a limited time. Prolonged free hanging can lead to irreversible physical damage and death. The impairment of the function of vital organs of the human body depends on many factors, so no more precise times can be given. The trade associations limit this time to a maximum of 20 minutes.
First aid
Due to the hanging situation, the entire blood circulation sinks into the legs. The medical term is orthostatic shock. A person who has been hanging in the full body harness for a long time must not be stored lying down after a rescue. If the person is conscious, they have to crouch. Sit on the floor with your legs drawn up. In the event of unconsciousness, this person belongs in the stable side position with their legs hanging down. This should be brought to the intensive care unit of a hospital in this position.
Rescue concept
The hazards described require a company that works with PPE against falls to draw up a rescue concept. The provision of abseiling rescue devices and regular training with these devices is an important duty of care for such a company.
