Can I Use My Rock Climbing Equipment As Industrial Fall Protection?

When attempting to access an area at height, it’s always essential to use some form of application-appropriate fall protection to ensure your safety, especially since falls are the leading cause of death in industries such as construction. 

Bodies such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) provide stringent personal fall protection requirements and outline the performance requirements for full-body safety harnesses, which are the only acceptable forms of fall arrest in industrial applications. This means that, despite some similarities between the equipment requirements for rock climbing and workplaces, you must always use the approved equipment for each endeavor. 

A climbing safety belt, safety climbing harness, and other climbing safety equipment may prevent falls, but certified industrial fall protection equipment is better suited to the workplace. We’ve outlined the differences in compliance, the unique requirements, the similarities, and the fundamental differences between rock climbing equipment and industrial fall protection because it’s always helpful to understand why some equipment is best applied to one circumstance but never another.

Understanding Differences in Compliance

Rock climbers adhere to the equipment guidelines and standards set forth by the International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (UIAA) for their personal safety.

 In contrast, people involved with general industry and construction safety are required by law to adhere to the height guidelines set forth by OSHA and are encouraged to adhere to ANSI/ASSP Z359 and ANSI/ASSP A10 standards. Both of these organizations are committed to the safety of people accessing or working in areas at height. 

The Experience of Rock Climbing vs. Working at Height

During rock climbing, one of the primary goals — and rewards — is climbing up to an area hundreds of feet in the air that would be otherwise unknown to human eyes and hands. Since rock climbers who climb outdoors regularly expose themselves to those dangerous heights, they understand they must use specialized climbing safety equipment to prevent serious injury. Climbing equipment is designed to be relatively lightweight to allow the climber to focus entirely on their hand and foot placement. 

The height hazards for people who work in an industrial setting are different, which means they require different fall protection equipment. Usually, workers are exposed to heights because they need to access the top of large vehicles, storage units, machines, or buildings during the construction process or to perform maintenance. Either way, they’ll invariably carry potentially heavy tools and other equipment that could influence their balance. 

Additionally, workers are usually on their feet when moving around on top of equipment or vehicles, while rock climbers can use their hands and feet as points of contact against the wall. For this reason, rock climbers have a better sense of control and stability while navigating heights. Workers could easily lose their balance and fall when they only have their feet as a point of contact at height. 

In summary, a worker’s focus is on the task at hand, not the climb itself, which can affect the safety precautions they need to take.

Similarities in Safety Requirements and Training

Even though the circumstances between recreation and workplace applications differ, there are some basic similarities regarding the core ideology and logic behind staying safe at height. When rock climbers learn about fall protection, their equipment checklist sounds similar to the list referenced during workplace height safety training, also known as the “ABCs of Fall Protection.”

In the workplace, people learn about height safety with the first four letters of the alphabet — to have a complete Personal Fall Arrest System — workers need an Anchorage, a (full) Body harness, a Connector, and a Deceleration device. 

On a similar note, when climbers learn about fall protection safety, they are encouraged to find a suitable anchorage location, use a climbing safety harness, and attach to their anchorage system with connectors, like ropes and carabiners. The premise behind any fall protection system typically uses the same general ideas, but the specifics are crucial in establishing the appropriate safety equipment.

Rock Climbing Equipment vs. Industrial Fall Protection

Rock climbers follow equipment guidelines for recreational safety, whereas people on a job site adhere to industry-specific fall protection guidelines for workplace safety. The differences between recreational and industrial fall protection equipment relate to the fall a worker at height would experience versus the fall a rock climber at height would face.

Two of the most significant differences between rock climbing and workplace fall protection pertain to the harness and the deceleration device. 

Harness and Fall Restraint

Workplace fall protection harnesses are full-body harnesses with a dorsal or sternal D-Ring attachment area — or both. The D-Rings are placed in those areas because workers generally experience vertical falls and placing them in a harness with an anchorage connection keeps the worker upright. 

However, a climbing safety belt only goes around the waist and legs. This style of harness is preferred for climbers because it’s possible for them to fall at a variety of different angles. If a climber were to fall from any angle while wearing a full-body harness, it is likely that the full-body harness would put the climber at a higher risk for neck and spinal injuries, which is why climbing safety belts are advised. So, to reduce the impact of fall arrest on a climber’s body, the UIAA established that safety climbing harnesses are safer for rock climber usage. 

Note, per OSHA and ANSI/ASSP Z359 — never use a body belt in a fall arrest application. Body belts are acceptable for fall restraint only. See ANSI/ASSP Z359 for further clarification.

Deceleration and Fall Arrest 

Regarding deceleration devices, there is a considerable difference between what is an acceptable device for fall arrest in the workplace versus the sport of rock climbing.

In the workplace, falls should be arrested using either a rip-stitch lanyard or a self-retracting lanyard. These are preferred for the workplace because they provide the most controlled and immediate arrest of downward movement. But a dynamic — or semi-stretchy — rope is the preferred deceleration device in rock climbing.

Rock climbers use ropes because they need to connect to more anchorage points as they move along a rock face. When workers use fall protection at their jobs, they are tied off to either a specific anchorage point, or their anchorage follows them along an overhead anchor track system when applicable. The rock climber needs the rope because they will cover various distances during their climbing route with anchorages that they will tie onto as they progress on the wall or rock face.

Get Your Industrial Fall Protection From Rigid Lifelines®

Although the general concepts behind fall protection are the same, the secret to safety lies in the specifics. You should always assess your situation before putting yourself at a dangerous height and remember that if you’re unsure of what safety devices to use, ask someone who knows. In essence, unless your rock climbing safety equipment is labeled as OSHA and ANSI-compliant, you should not utilize it as industrial fall protection. 

For industrial fall protection systems and equipment that comply with OSHA 1910, OSHA 1926, and ANSI Z359 standards, trust Rigid Lifelines®. We have provided fall arrest and fall restraint equipment to promote improved worker safety since 1996. We have extensive experience designing, engineering, and testing fall protection systems for various industries. 

To identify the right equipment to suit your unique application, you can find a representative in your area or complete and submit our contact form online. You can also call us at 800-869-2080 to ask for more information or get a quote for your fall protection requirements.