Hi all,

I need a little help, we have conveyors and some are 21 feet high, we are looking at some sort of fall protection to be used for when cleaners or maintenance employees have to work on the conveyors to clear blockages etc.

Fall protection requires the attachments to be load tested, I am correct in also saying that the fall arrest attachments will also require load testing....

Fall arrest will need testing as well. Fall restraint harnesses stop you from going over the side, fall arrest slows you (relatively) safely once you've already gone over. The latter involves far greater forces and so ensuring anchor points are sufficient is essential.

Fall arrest also needs sufficient distance to operate efficiently and a rescue plan to get someone down. 4m open space is generally needed (check with your supplier), but beware of supports or other items that a person could collide with and cause major damage to themselves.

Fall restraint avoids all of these complications but it does require operator training and awareness to ensure the lanyard is short enough to prevent you from going over the edge. Overhead inertial reels that work much like seatbelts are probably your best bet, depending on overhead obstacles. I've seen these used in combination with fall arrest harnesses for a 'belt and braces' approach. If you go that way though, the reels and anchor points will need to be sufficient to act as fall arrest points.

Note that most fall protection gear does not come under LOLER as it is not used to routinely lift people, only to stop or slow them falling. PUWER will still apply though and in practice regular checks by a competent person to ensure the kit is up to scratch will look much the same under either set of regulations.

Have you considered other methods, as under the WAH Regs you should only use individual measures if you can't use other methods.

So barriers or nets would have to be ruled out before you jump to individual restraint or arrest.