CHOOSING THE RIGHT TECHNIQUE
The best method of hazard control is eliminating the potential of a fall.
Rope access / Abseil
A rope access system commonly employs a working line and a safety line. The working line, on which the operator is suspended under tension during ascent and descent, is the primary means of access. Depending on the mass of the operator, the anchor is subject to a continual force of 1-2kN, which should be applied in a static manner.
Restraint technique
Control of a person’s movement by use of a fall-arrest system, which entails connection to an anchorage using an adjustable or fixed lanyard or other adjustable component that can be adjusted for length as necessary to physically prevent the person from reaching a position where there is a risk of a free or limited free fall.
Work postioning
Work-positioning systems are considered to be higher than fall-arrest systems in the hierarchy of control, because the risks of a fall, with its uncertain consequences, are avoided, as the worker is already partially or completely hanging in suspension.
Fall arrest
A fall arrest system's purpose is to arrest a fall. It is an assembly of interconnected components comprising a harness connected to an anchorage point or to an anchorage system either directly or by means of a lanyard or by pole straps.
