Changes to the fall-protection equipment standard for general industry (ANSI Z359.1-1992 R1999) are under way. This benchmark standard, which has been incorporated into many industrial fall-protection programs, was last updated in 1999 with only minor editorial revisions. The proposed new standard, nearing completion, contains many important new requirements.
This article highlights significant changes and additions to the final draft form of the new ANSI Z359.1 standard, which will affect many U.S. employers, workers, safety professionals, manufacturers and others with a stake in the U.S. national consensus standard for fall protection.
Welcome to the family
The standard’s scope has expanded beyond fall arrest into other work applications, yet adheres to the “systems approach” of the original 1992 edition. Four new sections—a “family of standards”—currently make up the complete document. The sections are:
- Z359.0—Definitions and Nomenclature Used for Fall Protection and Fall Arrest;
- Z359.1—Safety Requirements for Personal Fall Arrest Systems, Subsystems and Components;
- Z359.2—Minimum Requirements for a Comprehensive Managed Fall Protection Program;
- Z359.3—Safety Requirements for Positioning and Travel Restraint Systems; and
- Z359.4—Safety Requirements for Assisted Rescue and Self-Rescue Systems, Subsystems and Components.
This article will focus on the Z359.1, .2 and .3 sections of the new standards.
Safety begins with Z
The following breaks down critical highlights of the three sections mentioned above.
Z359.0—Definitions and Nomenclature Used for Fall Protection and Fall Arrest
A dictionary of 150 specialized terms from sections 1 through 4, from “Activation Distance” to “Working Line.”
Z359.1—Safety Requirements for Personal Fall Arrest Systems, Subsystems and Components
Product design criteria and test procedures for fall arrest components, subsystems and systems, as in the current version of the standard, but with several important new requirements added. Here is a summary of the key changes proposed in Z359.1:
1. Gate strength requirements have increased for snaphooks and carabiners. The current standard requires a test for 220 lb of force against the gate face and 350 lb of force against the side of the gate. The gate mechanism may not disengage from the nose of the snaphook or carabiner.
The new standard will increase the strength requirement to 3,600 lb in all directions of potential loading to the gate. Test procedures will change to exert static loads on the gate face, gate side and from inside the gate outward, forcing the gate away from the nose of the device. Refer to the illustrations in Fig. 1.
2. A front attachment element for fall arrest is now included in the standard. The current standard states only the dorsal (back) D-ring may be used for attachment of a personal fall-arrest system. The revised standard will change to include attachment of the fall-arrest system to a front-mounted D-ring, located approximately in the area of the sternum, as illustrated by the harness in Fig. 2.
Connection at the front D-ring is limited, however, to systems that restrict free-fall distance to 2 ft or less and limit the maximum fall arrest loads on the front D-ring to 900 lb of force or less. This arrangement will be particularly useful in products selected by climbers and rope access workers.
3. Additional testing and warnings for twin-leg shock-absorbing lanyards. Concerns over potential misuse applications involving twin-leg shock-absorbing lanyards have prompted additional test requirements and warnings for these products in the proposed Z359.1 standard.
Twin-leg, or Y-lanyard designs, are not mentioned in the current standard. The new standard will include a 5,000-lb static test of the joint between the two lanyard legs shown in Fig. 3.
Added on the product label will be a warning to attach only the center snaphook to the back D-ring of the harness. Included in user instructions will be warnings such as:
Do not attach the unused leg of the lanyard to any point on the harness except attachment points specifically approved by the harness manufacturer for that purpose.
Z359.2—Minimum Requirements for a Comprehensive Managed Fall Protection Program
Scope
- A guideline for employers with new or existing fall-protection programs.
Purpose
- Identify, evaluate and eliminate (or control) fall hazards through
- Ensure proper training of personnel;
- Ensure proper installation and use of fall-protection and rescue equipment; and
- Implement safe fall-protection and rescue procedures.
Exceptions
- Does not apply to construction industry (SIC Division C), currently served by ANSI Standard A10.32-05.
Duties, policies and training
The new program standard emphasizes that company management endorse the employer’s fall-protection program. The standard sets out clear, unambiguous duties, responsibilities and training for each participant in the program: employers, program administrator, qualified person, competent person, authorized person, competent rescuer, authorized rescuer and trainer.
Training and evaluations
Training from administrators, safety engineers, supervisors, at-risk workers and rescue personnel is strongly emphasized due to Z359 committee members’ years of experience of and their firmly held belief that, without proper training, fall-protection equipment and procedures are inadequate to the task of reducing worker injury and death.
Therefore, the program standard sets new goals for achieving improved training practices throughout the industry. Z359.2 incorporates, by reference, another ANSI Standard, Z490.1, Criteria for Accepted Practices in Safety, Health and Environmental Training. Together, the Z359.1 and Z490.1 provide employers with a comprehensive roadmap to enhanced fall-protection training.
Fall-protection procedures
Section 4 of the program standard sets out general and specific requirements for fall-protection procedures, based on the Fall Hazard Survey Report, which is written by a trained safety professional. It identifies each fall hazard at the work location and recommends one or more methods for eliminating or controlling each identified fall hazard.
Anchor systems
The program standard establishes strength criteria for various fall-protection anchors, simplifying in one section the design requirements for fall arrest, horizontal lifelines, work positioning, travel restraint and rescue systems.
Fall arrest
- Noncertified anchor: 5,000 lbf static strength; and
- Certified anchor (designed, selected and installed by qualified person): Static strength two times maximum arresting force.
Work positioning
- Noncertified anchor: 3,000 lbf static strength; and
- Certified anchor: Static strength two times foreseeable force.
Restraint and travel restriction
- Noncertified anchor: 1,000 lbf static strength; and
- Certified anchor: Static strength two times foreseeable force.
Rescue systems
- Noncertified anchor: 3,000 lbf static strength; and
- Certified anchor: Static strength five times the applied load.
In each case, anchors are divided into two categories: certified and noncertified. Certified anchors have been selected under the supervision of a qualified person who documents, by a process of testing or analysis by a nationally accepted engineering methodology, and attests to their capacity.
Noncertified anchors are those judged by a competent person to be capable of supporting the anchor forces prescribed by the standard. Fall-protection systems connected to noncertified anchors must, in all cases, limit potential free-fall distance to 6 ft or less and be equipped with an energy-absorbing device that limits maximum arrest forces to 900 lb or less.
Rescue procedures
No fall-protection program would be complete without provisions for prompt rescue after a worker has fallen and remains suspended, unable to evacuate himself or herself to a safe working level.
Planning for prompt rescue means getting to the rescue subject within six minutes after an accidental fall, which takes planning and coordination by the employer’s safety professionals.
If your plan calls for assistance by professional rescue services, such as the fire department or local search-and-rescue teams, then advance planning is necessary. Involving outside services must logically take place prior to an actual emergency and includes a documented plan and written confirmation by the rescue agency.
If an in-house rescue team is in your plan, then team members must be trained and equipped for the task, including regularly scheduled simulations and documented plans and instructions for their use.
Z359.3—Safety Requirements for Positioning and Travel Restraint Systems Before examining the product requirements in Z359.3, it helps to understand these terms:
Work Positioning defined: supporting a worker on a vertical surface while working with hands free. Work positioning systems are designed to prevent a fall from occurring. When a fall hazard is present, positioning systems must be used along with a separate and independent personal fall-arrest system.
Travel Restraint defined: limiting a worker’s travel in such a manner that they cannot reach a fall-hazard zone. Restraint systems do not support a portion of the worker’s weight. They are used only on walking/working surfaces with a slope between zero and 18.4°.
Full-body harnesses must meet the requirements of ANSI Z359.1 for fall arrest. In addition, the work positioning and travel restraint attachment elements (D-rings) must withstand a dynamic strength test consisting of a 3.3-ft free fall with a 220-lb test weight.
Lanyards under this section must be designed and tested to withstand a static load of 5,000 lb without breaking.
Ready for release
The American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) estimates publication of the new standard in July 2007, with an effective date of Aug. 15, 2007. For further information, contact ASSE at 847/699-2929, Internet address: www.asse.org.
