4.3 Personal Fall Protection, Ladders, MEWPs and Rescue from Height
Key Takeaways
DOSH's falls guideline says the arresting force on a worker in a fall-arrest system must be less than 6 kN, achieved with a 2-metre lanyard and personal energy absorber or a type 2 or 3 fall-arrest device.
DOSH's falls guideline requires fall-arrest attachment hardware to withstand 15 kN, static lines to have a minimum breaking strength of 44 kN unless engineered, and sets a maximum fall factor of 1.
DOSH's falls guideline limits single ladders to 9 metres and extension ladders to 15 metres, set at a 1:4 slope, secured top and bottom and used by one person at a time.
Persons in the bucket of a boom-type elevating work platform must wear a harness with a lanyard attached to the machine, just long enough to allow movement within the bucket (DOSH falls guideline 6.2).
Current first-aid evidence (UK HSE research report RR708 and ANZCOR guidance) says a rescued suspension casualty should receive normal first aid and may be laid horizontal; the old advice to keep them semi-upright for 30 minutes is not supported.
Restraint, positioning or arrest?
DOSH's falls guideline (section 8) separates three types of personal system:
| System | Purpose | Key rule |
|---|---|---|
| Travel restriction (restraint) | Stops the worker reaching a place where a free fall is possible | If a free fall is possible, a fall-arrest system with a harness must be used instead. Any restrained fall must be kept to an absolute minimum, under 600 mm |
| Work positioning | Supports the worker while working, for example a pole strap | A full harness and safety system are used |
| Fall arrest | Stops a fall that has started | Designed to hold a person after a fall, not to support them while working |
Restraint sits higher in the hierarchy than arrest, because no fall happens. Where the roof or slab layout allows it, set lanyard lengths and anchor positions so workers physically cannot reach the edge.
Components of a fall-arrest system
| Component | DOSH guideline requirement or good practice |
|---|---|
| Anchorage | As high as practical but within easy reach. An anchor at foot level allows a fall of the lanyard length plus the distance from anchor to harness. Never anchor to guardrails |
| Full-body harness | Lanyard or anchor line attached at the designated fall-arrest point. Waist belts are not fall-arrest devices |
| Connectors | All attachment hardware designed to withstand 15 kN |
| Energy absorber or lanyard | Arresting force on the worker less than 6 kN, using a 2 m lanyard with a personal energy absorber (tear web), or a type 2 or 3 fall-arrest device. Chain or wire lanyards only with an energy absorber |
| Fall-arrest devices | Type 1 (inertia lock sliding on an anchor line): lanyard between harness and device no more than 2 m. Types 2 and 3 (inertia reels): line attached directly to the dorsal point; type 3 can also winch a person back |
| Static (horizontal) lines | Minimum breaking strength 44 kN unless engineered; correctly tensioned; rigged by trained and specialist people |
| Rescue | Emergency procedures in place so a suspended person can be recovered before physiological injury |
Fall factor
DOSH defines fall factor as the length of the fall divided by the length of the lanyard. With a 2 m lanyard:
- a 2 m fall gives a fall factor of 1
- a 4 m fall gives a fall factor of 2
The maximum allowed fall factor is 1, so anchor at or above the harness attachment point.
Pendulum effect
An anchor far to one side of the work position lets a falling worker swing down along an edge, lengthening the fall, or swing back into the structure. DOSH's guideline advises placing anchorages perpendicular to the work position, using mobile anchorages, or reassessing the system.
Clearance: will the system stop the worker in time?
A fall-arrest system needs clear space below. A planning calculation adds:
- Free fall before the system engages (for a 2 m lanyard anchored at foot level, up to about 4 m; anchored at harness height, about 2 m)
- Energy absorber deployment, which is stated by the manufacturer and is often over 1 m
- Harness stretch and the distance from the attachment point to the feet, often taken as about 1.5 m
- A safety margin, commonly 1 m
Worked example, anchored at harness level: 2.0 + 1.75 + 1.5 + 1.0 = 6.25 m of clearance needed below the anchor level. A worker on a 4 m high deck using that lanyard would hit the ground before the fall was arrested. Use the manufacturer's clearance chart for the actual product. For low heights choose restraint, a self-retracting lifeline (type 2 or 3 device), or better still a collective measure.
Inspection and care of harnesses and lanyards
DOSH's guideline says all equipment shall be regularly inspected and tested to MS or other accepted international standards. It must be given a careful visual inspection by trained personnel every time it is used, and used in line with the manufacturer's instructions. A pre-use check covers:
- webbing: cuts, abrasion, burns, chemical damage, UV fading, broken stitching
- hardware: cracks, distortion, corrosion; gates that close and lock
- energy absorber: pack intact, with no deployment indicator showing
- labels legible, so the standard and date of manufacture can be read
Any item that has arrested a fall, or fails a check, is withdrawn and destroyed or returned to the manufacturer. Keep a register with periodic detailed inspections by a competent person.
Ladders
| Rule (DOSH falls guideline) | Value |
|---|---|
| Maximum length, single ladder | 9 m |
| Maximum length, extension ladder | 15 m |
| Angle | 1 horizontal to 4 vertical (about 14° from vertical, about 75° from the ground) |
| Securing | Top and bottom; one person may foot the ladder until the top is tied |
| Use | One person at a time; never laid horizontally as a work platform |
| Stiles | Extend 1 m above the step-off point unless suitable handholds are provided |
| Step ladders | Maximum height 6.1 m; locking bar engaged |
| Fixed vertical ladders | Rungs 250–300 mm apart; cages or hoops from 2.5 m on ladders over 6 m (where steeper than 75°); maximum 9 m between landings |
Ladders suit short-duration, light work where a platform is not reasonably practicable. For anything longer or heavier, use a scaffold, tower or MEWP. Check ladders before use for loose, bent, worn or split rungs and damaged stiles or feet.
Mobile elevating work platforms (MEWPs)
DOSH's guideline (section 6.2) says:
- the machine must comply with an accepted international standard
- the correct type must be selected for the work
- operators must be trained on that type
Before use, the employer should ensure that:
- the machine has been inspected and tested at the manufacturer's intervals
- it is set up level on firm ground
- it keeps a safe distance from power lines
- its movement will not create other hazards, such as blocking roads
- it is not overloaded or used as a crane
People in the bucket of a boom-type platform must wear a harness with a lanyard attached to the machine, just long enough to allow movement within the bucket. For a scissor lift with intact guardrails, follow the manufacturer's instructions on whether a restraint is needed.
Under the Plant Requiring Certificate of Fitness Regulations 2024, aerial working platforms are defined as lifting machinery. Check the machine's certificate of fitness status as part of the pre-use check.
Suspension intolerance and rescue
Hanging motionless in a harness lets blood pool in the legs and can lead to fainting. DOSH's falls guideline warns that motionless suspension "can rapidly lead to faintness and serious blood circulation problems", with brain damage or death possible in under 10 minutes, and requires a rescue plan with equipment immediately available. DOSH's work-at-height page adds: don't rely solely on the Fire and Rescue Department.
What current evidence says about first aid
UK HSE research report RR708 (2009) reviewed the evidence on first aid for suspension trauma. ANZCOR's guideline 9.1.5 says the same. Their findings:
- Rescue a casualty showing pre-fainting symptoms, or an unconscious casualty, as soon as it is safely possible.
- If a conscious casualty cannot be released at once, raising the legs (for example using harness foot loops or relief straps) may extend the time they can tolerate suspension.
- After rescue, follow standard first aid: airway, breathing and circulation. A semi-conscious or unconscious casualty can be placed horizontally in the recovery position as usual.
- There is no evidence supporting the older advice to keep casualties semi-upright or in a "W" position for 30 minutes.
A workable rescue plan
- Rescue method for each location, such as an MEWP, a pre-rigged rescue kit with a pulley system, or a ladder for low heights
- Equipment on site and checked; trained rescuers on every shift
- Target: casualty reached within minutes, not waiting for external services
- Communication: radio or phone, and a nominated person to call 999 and meet the ambulance
- Drills recorded; plan included in the method statement and construction phase plan
Scenario: rigger on a hangar rafter
A rigger walking a rafter bottom flange 14 m up slips and is arrested by a twin lanyard on an overhead static line (fall factor below 1). He is conscious but hanging.
- The SSS starts the rescue plan. The on-site boom lift reaches him within six minutes while he stands in his harness foot loops.
- On the ground the first-aider checks airway, breathing and circulation, then monitors him. He is not forced to stay upright.
- His harness, lanyard and static line are withdrawn for inspection.
- The fall is investigated as a near miss: the ground-level assembly option and walkway guardrails are reviewed.
Under DOSH's falls guideline, what is the maximum fall factor allowed for a personal fall-arrest system?
1, meaning the fall is no longer than the lanyard
2, meaning the fall is twice the lanyard length
3, provided an energy absorber is fitted
There is no maximum if the harness meets an international standard
An SSS checks an extension ladder used to reach a first-floor scaffold landing. Which set-up matches DOSH's falls guideline?
Angled at 1 horizontal to 1 vertical and tied at the top only
Used by two workers at once to carry materials up together
Laid horizontally across two trestles as a working platform
Set at 1:4, secured top and bottom, stiles 1 m above the landing
A rescued worker who hung in a harness for 15 minutes is now semi-conscious on the ground. What first-aid approach is supported by current evidence such as HSE research report RR708?
Keep them sitting upright for 30 minutes and never let them lie down
Hang the casualty upside down to restore circulation to the head
Standard ABC first aid, using the recovery position as usual
Give the casualty nothing and wait for an ambulance without monitoring
Sections you finish are checked off in the contents.