The most common use of fall arrest in the WORKPLACE is the Personal Fall Arrest System ( PFAS or LIFELINE ).
Such a system should include 5 elements referred to as ABCDEs of Fall Arrest:
A – Anchorage – A fixed structure or structural adaptation, often including an anchorage connector, to which the other components of the PFAS are rigged.
B – Body Wear – A full body harness worn by the worker.
C – Connector – A subsystem component connecting the harness to the anchorage. Such as a lanyard.
D – Deceleration Device – An Essential Subsystem Component designed to dissipate the forces associated with a fall arrest event ( energy absorption).
E – Emergency Plan & Equipment – A clear and simple approach to rescue of a suspended worker following a fall arrest event. All workers should be familiar with the site-specific plan and able to both comply with and implement it. This includes aiding others, as in recovery of a suspended co-worker before “suspension trauma” sets in.

Each of these elements is critical to the effectiveness of a personal fall arrest system. There are many different combinations of products that are commonly used to assemble a personal fall arrest system, and each must meet strict standards.

How Energy Absorbers or Shock Absorbers ( Deceleration Devices ) works in a PFAS:

Fall Arrest Function
In the event of a fall, the PFAS activates, arresting the fall and preventing the worker from hitting a lower level.

Energy Absorption
Many PFAS incorporate energy-absorbing elements to reduce the impact force on the worker’s body.
To arrest a fall in a controlled manner, it is essential that there is sufficient energy absorption capacity in the system. Without this designed energy absorption, the fall can only be arrested by applying large forces to the worker and to the anchorage, which can result in either or both being severely affected. Excessive energy into the support and user is avoided by the use of energy absorbing PPE (Personal Protection Equipment ).

VLL
The most common fall arrest system is the VLL (Vertical Life Line). A stranded rope that is connected to an anchor above, and to which the user’s PPE is attached either directly or through a “shock absorbing” (energy absorbing) lanyard. Once all of the components of the particular lifeline system meet the requirements of the standard, the anchor connection is then referred to as an anchorage, and the system as well as the rope is then called a “LIFELINE”.
The rope can be lifeline rope, which stretches to lengthen the fall distance as it absorbs energy; or static rope, which does not stretch and thus limits the fall distance, but requires the fall energy be absorbed in other devices (example , shock absorbers ).

HLL
Another common system is an HLL (Horizontal Life Line). These are linear anchoring devices, which allow workers to move along the whole length of the anchor, usually without needing to disconnect and fixing points of the anchorage.
It is normally essential to include energy (or shock) absorbers within HLL in addition to those within the workers’ PPE. Without such absorbers, the horizontal life line cannot deform significantly when arresting the fall. Because of the geometry of pulling across the horizontal line, this in turn results in large resolved forces being generated within the anchor system, sufficient to cause failure of the anchorage.

SRL
A self-retracting lifeline (SRL) is a deceleration device. The SRL contains a drum-wound line that may be either slowly extracted from or retracted onto the drum under slight tension during normal worker movement. A fall automatically locks the drum and arrests the fall. Many compact Self Retracting Lifelines SRL’s, often called “personal SRL’s, are designed to be used as a lanyard replacement and come with an integrated Shock Absorber to keep forces low.

In conclusion, prioritizing the correct use of Personal Fall Arrest System (PFAS) in a specific environment or application not only safeguards workers but also contributes to a productive and secure work environment.

Phakimisa Industries, provides high-quality safety solutions, which includes Self-Retracting Lifelines and other Deceleration Devices.