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Wait! Kill yourself while using fall protection? Those things are supposed to prevent that from happening, right? Of course they are, but they key part of that phrase is “supposed to”. If you’re not using a fall protection system properly or not taking external factors into account, your system could be rendered useless. Your fall protection is doing nothing but providing you with a false sense of security. If you are doing any of the following, you could be endangering yourself or your team members even if a fall system is in place.

Ignore Swing Hazard 

If you don’t plan properly, or if you travel at too great an angle from your anchor point, you may be hurt when you fall, even if your personal fall arrest does its job properly. Swing hazards occur when the engaging of your fall arrest system cause you to swing back into a structure. Rather than suffer injuries from the fall itself, you suffer injuries from the impact with the structure and, because of the force associated with falls, you could pick up quite a bit of speed and impact with great force.

Ignore Fall Clearance

You can’t determine what type of fall protection you need without first determining your fall clearance. Fall protection systems are not one-size-fits-all. Unfortunately, a great number of people feel that they have either protected themselves, achieved compliance, or fooled anybody who is looking by throwing on a 6’ lanyard and a harness and tying off. But, unless your anchor point is about 18.5’ above the lower level, that fall arrest system isn’t going to help. Simply assuming a 6’ lanyard is going to protect you once you’re over 6’ is potentially deadly.

Trust Without Inspecting 

If there’s one rule of thumb you should live by when it comes to safety, it’s “Inspect, Inspect, Inspect”. Why would you ever leave your safety to chance? And frankly nobody is going to be as vigilant with your life as you are going to be. If you are letting someone else inspect your fall protection system you are entrusting your life with them. People make mistakes, people get tired, people are lazy, and sometimes people just don’t care. Inspect your own equipment before using it. Plenty of workers pick up equipment that’s NEVER been inspected and use it. The only thing keeping them safe is luck.

Be Alone on a Roof 

Even with all the fall protection in the world, working alone can lead to death. Go up on a roof by yourself and nobody may come looking for you for a very long time as roofs are not areas that usually see much traffic. Never go onto a roof or any other work area alone, unless you have some sort of communication plan that would alert someone if something went wrong.

Make Your Own……(If you are not Qualified) 

Simply put, making your own anything is probably not a great idea. Manufactured safety equipment goes through a series of tests and has to meet certain standards before being sold. Anything you make is not going to be tested that rigorously, if at all, and leaves a large chance for error. Building your own lifeline can be dangerous as well, even if you feel the rope, u-bolts, and anchors are all strong enough, did you know that improper tensioning could cause the arresting force during a fall to exceed 50,000 lbs.? Although some things may not be “cheap”, remember you get what you pay for and if you ever need your fall protection equipment to work, you’re going to think that it was worth every last penny if it functioned properly. Make sure you have the proper fall protection. A false sense of security could lead people to take risks that they otherwise wouldn’t have taken.