Page 12 - Petzl-catalog-pro-2018

General principles for work at height
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Warning
• You must have understood and retained the information from your products' Instructions for Use to be able to apply the techniques
presented in this document
• Learning appropriate techniques and methods of protection is your own responsibility. Petzl solutions are given for information only,
with no guarantee of their effectiveness in your specific working situation. The relevance of these solutions varies by context, so always
do your own risk analysis in the field
• Mastering the techniques presented here requires specific training and practice; work with a specialized organization for all training
activities

General information on falls
The risk of falling is a key concept to master when working Fall arrest
at height. The severity of a fall depends on independent
factors: The fall arrest system is a belay system
that is independent of the means of
• The weight of the user, including equipment: progression or work positioning.
The greater the weight, the more energy to be dissipated The fall arrest system prevents the user
during the fall. from falling to the ground in case of a
• The length of the fall: fall. Its role is to arrest the fall while
The longer the fall, the more energy to be dissipated during limiting the impact force experienced by
the fall. The risk of hitting an obstacle is also greater. the user. It must therefore be used with
• The position relative to the anchor: enough clearance to allow for a free fall.
When the worker moves above his/her anchor, the severity
of the potential fall increases. The fall factor concept is
sometimes used to describe the worker's position relative
to the anchor and the severity of the fall. This concept
applies to climbing, restraint, or work positioning
situations, when a dynamic rope lanyard is used.

Precautions for the type of system used:
The Instructions for Use specify the limitations for use
of equipment, particularly in terms of fall distance and
the worker's position relative to the anchor.

Work positioning
A work positioning system supports the
user and allows him/her to be precisely
positioned with weight on his/her feet.
This system is not designed to arrest
a fall; the user must keep his/her body
weight on the positioning system.
The work positioning system must be
supplemented with a fall arrest system.

Restraint
A restraint system limits
the work zone, keeping
the worker from entering an
area that may present a risk
of falling. This system is not
designed to arrest a fall
from height.
Suspension
The user is working in suspension when
s/he no longer has weight on his/her
feet, but is supported primarily by the
harness. The load is thus shared
between the waistbelt and the leg
loops/seat.

Tetragon Distributors Inc.
sales@tetragon.ca www.tetragon.ca
905-828-9803