Fall arrest impact
In order to avoid injuries, personal protective equipment (PPE) should be designed to resist the maximum forces that could be developed during a fall, and the equipment should reduce these forces and the deceleration on the wearer to the kinds of values that are not dangerous. A deceleration of 12G is considered survivable if the individual is wearing a parachute harness, but the postures, physical fitness levels, harness attachment location, ’wearer comfort’ and other factors have influenced the advisability that 6G should be considered as a maximum for users of industrial harnesses.
This means that for a medium body weight of 100 kg, the maximum arrest force is 6 kN according to European standardisation and maximum 8 kN according to American standardisation.
Only certain components, or assembly of components, fulfil these conditions and can be used where there is the risk of falling from height.
