Here in Illinois and Indiana, thousands of workers face the danger of being hurt in a fall at work as part of their daily duties. Falls are a common cause of serious or deadly work injuries for people employed in several of our biggest industries. Read, Fighting Fatal Falls on the Job: OSHA’s First National Emphasis Program.
Obviously, construction workers are notoriously at risk of falling from a height on the job, but other industrial jobsites throughout our region also put people at a great danger of being hurt or killed in a fall accident. For instance, telecommunication workers (think anyone working on a cell tower; broadcast tower; etc.) need protection from falling, too. And linemen doing utility work, either climbing the high-voltage poles or maneuvering from a bucket, are also at a significant risk of being hurt in a fall while getting the job done.
In fact, any worker working from a height of even a few feet (think someone in a factory or mini mill on a scaffold or crane; someone on a loading dock; etc.) can suffer fatal injuries from a fall on the job without proper protection.
For more, read Construction Worker Deaths: Almost Half of All Construction Fatalities Caused by Falls; and Worker Dangers in the Steel Mills and Steel Factories of Indiana.
Personal Fall Protective Equipment (PPE) and Fall Arrest Systems
Legally, employers and others on the site are required to protect workers against being hurt in a fall in all sorts of ways, with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) (and the state OSHA plans of Indiana and Illinois) overseeing specific mandates for fall protection. The regulations point to “personal fall protection systems” as defined in 29 CFR §1910.140.
One component of worker safety here is the “fall arrest system,” physically attaching the worker to an anchor point while on the job to stop a fall. The worker may also be protected by things like (1) guardrail systems on the worksite and (2) big safety net systems over a large area (think thirty feet) of the worksite that can handle the sudden force of 5000 pounds in a fall.
Personal fall arrest systems (“PFAS”) are legally supposed to be part of the employer’s overall fall protection plan. They involve an arrangement of things like harnesses, anchors, etc. designed to work in tandem when a worker falls. In case of a fall accident, wearing the PFAS is intended to block the force and impact of a rapid descent, keeping the worker safe from severe injury. Read, Fall Arrest System published by the Safeopedia Dictionary.
Safety Harnesses: Required PPE for Fall Safety
A key component of these personally worn fall protection systems is the use of a body harness worn by the worker. See, 29 CFR §1926.502. The harness comes with a lanyard attached to it. This connects the worker to a fixed anchor point on the site.
If the worker should lose balance and fall, the harness with its attached lanyard holds the worker up and stops the worker from falling fast and hitting the ground or lower level. Lives can be saved in this way.
However, these fall safety harnesses come with their own dangers. A worker who falls while wearing the fall arrest system will be suspended in the air, wearing that harness. And that suspension comes with its own risks of bodily harm.
What is Suspension Trauma?
Imagine a worker in a factory or on a construction site who has avoided hitting the ground in a fall because of a fall arrest system. Right now, they are hanging in the air and they will stay there until someone helps them out of their dilemma.
Time is important here. Why? The same power that gripped the worker, protecting them from falling and suffering catastrophic harm is now placing pressure on that human body the harness is holding in place, in the air.
The harness leg straps may be holding up that worker, but those straps are also pushing against that worker’s legs. Blood circulation can be slowed or stopped. The straps may work like a dam, blocking the flow of blood through the femoral arteries. Meanwhile, blood will be pooling in the legs because the harness is preventing normal circulation back and forth to the heart.
If the worker is not removed quickly from being held up in the air by that safety harness, serious injury can happen independent of any thwarted fall accident. Sometimes called “orthostatic shock,” it is more commonly known as “suspension trauma,” and the worker can die from it.
Dangers in Safety Harness Design and Use in Fall Arrest Systems
For any worker asked to use a personal fall arrest system on the job, it is good to know that their employer (and others with possession, custody, or control of aspects of the site) are concerned about keeping people safe. Falls kill people, and taking steps to protect against this well-known danger is a good thing.
However, suspension trauma after a fall can kill people, too. Workers and those supplying, repairing, manufacturing, designing, or inspecting, these fall arrest systems need to be alert and aware of this risk. And everyone on the site should understand not only of importance of a fast response and rescue of the suspended worker, but of other things that increase the likelihood of the harness causing injury.
This includes things like:
- the design of the harness and the rig;
- how it fits the particular worker;
- training of the worker in what to do in the event of a fall and being suspended in the harness;
- training of others on the site on how to respond to a suspended worker after a fall arrest (including the need to act fast in a rescue); and
- bodily harm that may result from the force of safety harness system during the blocking of the fall.
It is horrific to think that a worker who is saved from a deadly fall can then suffer catastrophic and permanent disability or die because of a fall arrest system that was supposed to provide protection. Sadly, workers have been known to die or have life-altering bodily injuries from suspension trauma while avoiding the impact of a fall accident.
The complexities of proper safety harness systems must be understood. These fall arrest systems need to be fitted not only to the special needs of the worksite, but pared with the height and weight of the worker.
Consider that research has confirmed that:
- If the harness does not place the worker into a sitting position, the risk of harm increases;
- The placement of the straps may increase harm if they are tight or if they loop around the body;
- Lots of pressure on the chest by the harness can increase the likelihood of serious harm;
- Risks exist for trauma including fracture or burns if the harness is tight or without proper padding;
- Nerve damage or brain trauma is a risk if the harness is not properly positioned to protect the spine and neck.
While being saved from a horrific fall, a worker in Illinois or Indiana may still be in danger of severe bodily injury or death from the very safety measures that blocked their deadly descent. Suspension trauma involving their fall arrest system and safety harness may mean losing consciousness; losing blood circulation to the legs; trauma to extremities; and more.
For more on fall accidents, read:
- June is National Safety Month: Illinois’ National Safety Council Spotlights Fatal Fall Dangers
- Fatal Falls in Construction Caused by Employers Failing to Plan for Worker Safety
- Fatal Falls on the Job and the Employer Failure to Protect Worker From Fall Risk
- Fall Accidents on the Job: Industrial Workplaces and Great Danger of Fall Injuries.
In a matter of minutes, left suspended in the air and hanging from a personal fall arrest system harness, the worker saved from a fall may get hurt in devastating ways from their fall PPE. Please be careful out there!
