Getting fall arrest equipment right

  • Safety Flash
  • Published on 29 August 2023
  • Generated on 3 September 2025
  • IMCA SF 21/23
  • 2 minute read

Despite a permit to work being in place for a crew member to work at height on a vessel, the length of fall arrest equipment was found to be greater than the height at which the crew member was working

What happened?

A crew person was changing the lamp bulbs on the vessel mast, working at a height of around 4m above the deck. The person was wearing a full set of PPE including a certified safety harness with a lanyard equipped with a shock absorber. There was a Permit to Work in place.

However, the  total length of all this safety equipment had not been properly taken into account.

  • 1.75 m: the safety lanyard shock absorber
  • 2 m: the lanyard itself
  • 1.9 m: the approximate height of the person being protected.

This added up to 5.65 m, whereas the person was working 4 m above the deck.

In the case of a fall from height, the fall arrest equipment would have been of no use and the person could have fallen to deck unprotected. He did not fall – no-one was injured.

planning of work at height on vessel mast did not calculate the fall arrest correctly
correct calculation of fall arrest taking account of safety lanyard, its shock absorber, and approximate height of person being protected

What went right?

The crew person was wearing fall arrest equipment and there was a Permit to Work in place – some incomplete assessment of risk had at least taken place.

What went wrong?

  • The risk assessment was not adequate; no-one thought to check that the proposed work height relative to the length of the fall arrest equipment.
  • No-one noticed or considered that the fall arrest safety lanyard was clearly marked “Minimum 6 m clearance distance” (see image).

Actions

Correctly calculate your fall arrest!

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