Fall Arrest Systems

Fall arrest equipment: kits, blocks and anchorage

Most of the range is sorted by what the worker connects to: columns and slab decking take a fall arrest post, steel beam flanges take a beam trolley, concrete takes a chemical anchor point or cast-in sockets, an open trailer bed takes a ballasted overhead anchor, a span between two anchors takes a temporary lifeline, and a shaft or manhole takes a tripod or davit.

Fall arrest and restraint kits

A kit brings the harness, lanyards and connectors together in one bag, matched to the job, so each worker is issued a set that works together. The construction fall arrest kit and the 2 point scaffold fall arrest kit are made up for work at an open edge, with shock absorbing lanyards and, in the construction kit, scaffold hooks. Spare screw locking karabiners replace connectors lost or damaged on site.

Fall arrest blocks and inertia reels

A fall arrest block, known on site as an inertia reel, retractable fall arrester or self retracting lifeline, pays line out and takes it back in as the worker moves, and locks when a fall begins. Lengths across the range run from 2.5 m to 20 m, in webbing or steel wire rope. The Helixon-S retractable fall arrest block is suitable for horizontal as well as vertical use, and the wire rope fall arrest block covers the longest working lengths.

Fall arrest posts for formwork and slab decking

These systems put an anchor above the deck before the slab, or anything over it, exists. The heavy duty fall arrest system for formwork is set at a column and lets the decking gang work all the way round it. The aluminium fall arrest system is the lighter alternative, put up by one person with no crane. The portable fall arrest post comes as a set with its own harness and fall arrest block, for a crew that needs the anchor and the personal equipment in one order.

Overhead anchor systems for trailers and structures

The MultiPercher raises an anchor point high above the work area on a cantilevered arm, so the worker below is connected from overhead. The MultiPercher trailer fall arrest system stands on a concrete filled ballast bin beside the vehicle, needs no fixing to the trailer and comes with a webbing fall arrest block. The socket mounted MultiPercher overhead anchor drops into a floor socket, wall socket, I-beam bracket or cast-in socket, for formwork, structural steel, inspection and maintenance work.

Anchor points, beam trolleys and temporary lifelines

Where the structure is already built, the anchor fixes to it. The stainless steel anchor point is set with a chemical anchor and gives one worker a fixed point to tie off to. The beam anchor trolley, also sold as a sliding beam anchor or beam clamp, adjusts to the flange of a steel beam and runs along it, so the worker stays connected while moving along the steelwork. The horizontal temporary lifeline is a polyester webbing line tensioned between two anchors, for continuous connection along a walkway, a roof or a run of steel.

Davits, tripods and recovery blocks

Manholes, shafts, tanks and other confined spaces need an anchor directly above the opening that can lower a worker in and bring them out again. The confined space tripod stands over a single opening on aluminium legs. The counterbalance davit needs no permanent base plate and moves between several entry points on the same job. The fall arrest block with integrated recovery arrests a fall and then lets the team at the top raise or lower the worker.

Fall arrest on scaffolds, formwork, trailers and roofs

Scaffolding

On a scaffold the anchor is the tube itself, so the lanyard ends in a scaffold hook whose wide gate closes round a standard or ledger. Moving along a lift means passing standards, transoms and couplers, and a twin lanyard lets the worker clip one leg ahead before releasing the other, so they stay connected the whole time. Twin lanyards and spare harnesses are in the fall arrest harnesses and lanyards range.

Formwork and concrete frames

During decking there is no slab above and often nothing to tie off to, so the anchor comes from a fall arrest post set at a column or, on frames that rise floor by floor, from a socket cast into the previous pour.

Trailers, flatbeds and loading bays

Sheeting, strapping and loading on a trailer bed put the worker at a short drop to the yard, with open sky overhead and a vehicle the fleet operator will not have drilled or modified. The freestanding MultiPercher answers each of these from beside the vehicle, and inside a loading bay with a steel frame or a concrete soffit, a fixed overhead anchor on the building does the same work.

Flat roofs and roof plant

Most work on a flat roof, from servicing plant to clearing outlets, can be done in restraint, because the anchor can sit well back from the perimeter. Set the lanyard length from the anchor so that the worker cannot reach the edge or any fragile rooflight, since a fragile rooflight will not carry a worker's weight.