While the increased use of aerial lifts has increased productivity and made working aloft safer in many respects, along with these lifts have come new dangers – in the form of falls. The results of these falls can be seen almost monthly in TCI Magazine’s “Accident Briefs” feature, in the reports of injuries and even deaths. In response, we’ve seen an increase in safety protocols, devices and systems to address the problem, including the main focus of this article, the fall-arrest harness.

To be clear, the fall-arrest harness and its related components need to be distinguished from fall-restraint systems.

“A fall-arrest system will stop you in the process of a fall, while a fall-restraint system will keep you from reaching the edge, not allowing you to fall,” according to an explanation from Simplified Safety, a Rochester, New York, provider of fall-protection equipment for the construction industries.

Since there are two parts to fall arrest – the harness and related components, plus the lift itself – both elements are addressed here, starting with the fall-arrest harness.

“OSHA mandated the use of full-body harnesses for fall arrest in the construction industry back in 1998,” says Tyler Lusht, arborist accounts manager, speaking for the team of professionals at Buckingham Manufacturing Co., Inc. Buckingham is a maker of safety gear for power-line, telecommunications and tree workers, as well as a 26-year TCIA corporate member based in Binghampton, New York. “This also included when working aloft in a bucket truck, as covered under OSHA 1926.453. This, however, excluded tree workers (residential/commercial and line-clearance personnel), because their work is not considered construction, so instead, the OSHA General Industry standards apply to their work (1910 subparts D & I, and 1910.67 for aerial lifts).

“It wasn’t until 2017 that those OSHA General Industry standards were updated to at least mirror the OSHA construction standards in regard to fall protection,” Lusht continues. “It’s quite clear that the use of a full-body harness in conjunction with an energy-absorbing or fall-limiting connecting device, as part of a personal fall-arrest system, will greatly mitigate any further injury to the worker when arresting a free fall. This is especially important in tree work, because the work includes cutting and moving heavy materials that could come into contact with the boom of the aerial platform, or cause the vehicle to move unexpectedly, possibly ejecting the worker.

“Saddles also are now available with fall-arrest capabilities built into them. The upper harness acts like suspenders and helps support the weight of the saddle from the hips to the shoulders,” says Lusht. “Some are permanent designs and some are removable, depending on the preference of the user and their work practices. They would be a good choice if the worker does both bucket and climbing work, or if they have to transfer into the tree from the bucket to a climbing system.

“Fall-arrest systems are designed to prevent further bodily injury while arresting a fall. The full-body harnesses are designed to distribute any shock loading from the harness to the muscular regions of the body (buttocks, chest, groin). The connecting device is designed to limit the amount of shock load created from the fall. OSHA only allows up to 1,800 lbf (pounds of force) and 6 feet of free fall.”

“As far as styles, the full-body harnesses are fairly similar (to each other) in their construction due to having to meet ANSI and OSHA standards,” Lusht says. “The differences would be hardware and padding for comfort, ease of use or needing added connection points to meet work-practice criteria.”

When asked why some workers eschew using a fall-arrest harness, the Buckingham team is “not sure age has a lot to do with it,” says Lusht. “It’s (likely) more a work-safety-culture thing that includes training and education, so they understand why they have to do it. Other things that can be done are to supply fall-arrest gear that is user friendly, easy to put on and take off, plus comfortable and applicable for the work they have to do. Workers will be more apt to wear the proper gear if it helps rather than hinders them.

“Know your equipment and know the standards your PPE is supposed to meet,” says Lusht. “The equipment you wear should meet and/or exceed all applicable industry standards, and it is important that you trust the manufacturer. Know your company’s gear-inspection policy, and always follow manufacturer recommendations.”

Jeremiah Wangsgard, technical information manager for Petzl America, a 26-year TCIA corporate member company based in Salt Lake City, Utah, explains the physics of fall arrest.

“In a fall, the harness is designed to support and hold the body,” he states. “A harness distributes the load to different parts of the body that are more capable of sustaining the forces. When supporting the user by the dorsal (back) attachment of a traditional full-body, fall-arrest harness, the load is directed through the shoulder straps and around the thighs,” rather than in the thighs and buttocks as with a climbing saddle.

“In order for the harness’s design to work, it is extremely important that it fits correctly and is properly adjusted,” he continues. “A properly fitted harness can help reduce the risk of injury during a fall. Harnesses are not designed to absorb energy. Impact is absorbed through the fall-arrest system’s deceleration device,” i.e., energy-absorbing lanyard or fall-arrester.

“Fall-protection equipment, including harnesses, should be inspected before each use. However, they should undergo an in-depth inspection at least every 12 months,” Wangsgard recommends. “Your intensity of use may cause you to inspect your equipment more frequently. Manufacturers will specify the maximum lifetime of their fall-protection products, and Petzl recommends a maximum lifetime of 10 years for any product made of plastic or textiles, as long as it continues to pass inspection. An exceptional event can lead you to retire a product after only one use, depending on the type and intensity of usage and the environment of usage.”

Fall-arrest harnesses are only as good as their connection to the equipment they are attached to, and lift manufacturers and sellers take this issue seriously.

“Each new Altec unit comes with a harness and lanyard,” says Joe Coleman, a trainer with Altec Sentry, a safety division of Altec Industries, Inc., a 36-year TCIA corporate member company based in Birmingham, Alabama. “Also available is an optional lanyard alert, interlocking with the lift unit, that alerts the operator and ground crew when the fall-arrest harness and safety lanyard are not engaged.”

According to Coleman, while an anchor point, lanyard and harness are required by OSHA, right now any interlock that either alerts operators and crew or prevents lift operation when not engaged remains a user option.

“Tree care trucks and the tree care LR8 articulating, over-center aerial device are insulating units and are available with a lanyard alert or interlock,” he says, reinforcing the fact that the interlock provides audio and visual alarms, as well as the lockout to prevent the unit from operating if the lanyard is not connected properly.

(For more information on warning and interlock systems, see “Warning: Aerial Lift Attachment Systems In Use!” in TCI Magazine, February 2020.)

Regarding the history of fall-arrest harnesses, “Like everything else, somewhere, someone got hurt. This is a way to fix that,” says Tony Trainer, tree care account manager with USM Falcon Lifts/USM Rerents, a two-year TCIA corporate member company based in Elmhurst, Illinois. “There are ample stories of workers being catapulted from a lift. In effect, a boom is loaded under tension followed by a release.” He says it’s just like a rock getting catapulted. “If you do not have a way to avoid that, humans get hurt.

“A typical tracked lift in compact form is pretty safe, but I do not recommend them being used without a harness,” says Trainer. “Some lifts have the capability of launching an operator just while driving.” Trainer says this is not as much of an issue with lower-slung tracked lifts, which he explains are more compact in transport versus wheeled machines.

“Safety,” Trainer stresses, “is one of the non-negotiable components of an operator-training class. An operator cannot pass if the lift is started without clipping in. It is that much of a huge safety deal.

“I do training, and I tell people never to use just a saddle system to lock into a bucket. You really have to use the full-arrest system, the principle being that if you fall out of the bucket and fall head first, a saddle alone can be ripped off your legs, defeating any intent of protection. However, with a full leg-and-shoulders harness, you will not fall out of the arrest system.”

Trainer says to “check for nicks and cuts in your fall-arrest harness to see that nothing might give way, given the hundreds of pounds of force generated in stopping a fall. Also, check buckles and clips for cracks and nicks for the same reason.”

Lenny Polonski, in sales at All Access Equipment, an 11-year TCIA corporate member company based in Wilmington, Massachusetts, stresses that OSHA regulations must be followed chapter and verse. “I say that because a lot of people treat wearing a fall-arrest harness as optional. It is not. It is a requirement that can save your life.

“Something someone told me at a trade show made a lot of sense and drives home that message,” he says. “Those rules were written with the blood of people who ignored safety. That may be a bit gruesome, but it gets the point across.”

He adds, “I have heard it said by some people that putting on this safety gear is a pain. To me, that means they were never properly instructed. If they had been, it would be no worse than lacing shoes. If you make a practice of putting on a safety harness every day, it is so easy.

“In fact, the correct and easy way to do it is to pick up the harness by the D-ring, and it all falls into place,” he reports. “To TCIA’s credit, you are educating people with these articles, and that is an important job because you may save someone’s life.

“Every time we sell a lift, we include a safety harness. Even though it is not required, we do it anyway and teach people how to use it,” Polonski says. “We show them how to take it out of the package and hold it by the D-ring so everything falls into place and it can be put on easily. Nine times out of 10 they get it right away.”

Reflecting on the fact that fall-arrest technology is part of an integrated system, Mike Hrycek of Tracked Lifts, Inc., a 14-year TCIA corporate member company based in New Oxford, Pennsylvania, says, “All lift equipment is required to have points of arrest. Manufacturers of our equipment test attachment points with drop tests. All of my equipment is tested with a weight drop equal to the weight capacity of our machines.”

Dead weights are attached to the fall-arrest points with a lanyard, lifted by a crane and dropped to induce a dynamic shock load, simulating what it would be like with a falling worker. “This ensures that the machine to which the fall-arrest harness is attached is built to a high margin of safety.”

Hrycek observes that a full fall-arrest harness is certified for use with an aerial device. “Alarmingly, we also see some users still using only a climbing belt without a full fall-arrest harness. So we provide a proper harness with all sales to encourage the use of a proper, full fall-arrest harness.”

There are other components of aerial-lift fall protection worth exploring in upcoming issues, but for now, because “things happen” on the job, safety systems should be top-of-mind for aerial-lift operators and the crews who back them up.