Fall Restraint Or Fall Arrest?

There are two types of fall protection equipment: fall restraint and fall arrest.

• Fall restraint equipment, such as safety belts, full-body harnesses and guardrails are used to prevent you from falling.
• Fall arrest equipment on the other hand, such as full-body harnesses connected to secure anchors by lanyards or lifelines, and safety nets, protect you after you have fallen.

Whenever you are at risk of falling, you should use a full-body harness fall arrest system.  Talk to your supervisor to make sure you are using the correct equipment.

A full-body harness has straps that pass over the shoulders, around the legs and across the chest.  At the back is a D-ring located between the shoulders which is used to hook the harness to a lanyard.  This way, when a worker’s fall is arrested or stopped, the shock of fall arrest is distributed throughout the upper body, lessening the possibility of serious injury.