3.8 Protecting Yourself from Falls

Stephanie Oostman

A career in welding can take you into places and situations unlike you thought possible. From inside a ship hull, to building fighter jet engines, to being engulfed in flames while welding an oil pipeline. Once you hone the skills needed for the trade, you could be in a variety of environments. As a welder in construction trades, you may find yourself in situations like standing in an angel wing basket, which may be just wide enough for you to stand on while it’s secured off the side of a building. But there are regulations set forth that dictate additional measures to keep a worker from falling. Even a fall from just a few feet can be fatal or cause life-altering injuries.

Harnesses

Two men working on a construction site wear fall protection harnesses to prevent injury.
Figure 3.18. Vertical job site / Photo Credit: Washington State Department of Transporation, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

The image 3.19 shows two men working several feet off the ground and tying off rebar, while they don’t appear to be welding, they do risk falling from their positions on the structure they are supported on. To prevent falls these men and women will wear fall protection in the form of a harness and lanyards to clip off to the structure in which they work. Should something occur like a misstep, slip, or other accident that causes the worker to lose their footing, the harness will support the user’s weight until they can be lifted back to safety.

It’s important that the harness fits snugly around the chest, and the leg loops fit securely around the groin. If they are too loose the straps can choke up suddenly causing rope burns, tissue damage, and disfigurement or the wearer may simply fall through the harness when they need it the most.

Several individuals work on a building. One person reaches across a platform to secure his lanyard to a second position.
Figure 3.19. Fall Protection Tie-off / Photo Credit: Oregon Department of Transportation, CC BY 2.0

Harnesses are designed to catch a person should they fall from a height. When putting on a harness, inspect the buckles, and straps for damage. Make sure the harness is the appropriate size or fitment for your body. Never wear a harness that has been glued or taped together, and always keep your lanyard tied off when working.

Attributions

  1. Figure 3.18: Bellevue Braids Construction by Washington State Department of Transporation is released under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
  2. Figure 3.19: Beam work (7415281734) by Oregon Department of Transportation is released under CC BY 2.0

License

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Introduction to Welding Copyright © by Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.