What is Fall Restraint?

As Director of Sales and Business Development for Rigid Lifelines, I am often asked the following two questions by distributors or end-users new to the fall protection industry:

1. What Is a Fall Restraint System?
2. Can Rigid Lifelines Provide a Fall Restraint Rigid Rail System?

1. What Is a Fall Restraint System? 

Unlike fall arrest systems, which safely stop a worker who has fallen, fall restraint systems prevent the user from falling any distance. The most commonly utilized fall restraint is a tie-off system that “restrains” the employee from falling off an elevated working surface. The general layman description is like being on a dog leash. The worker can reach a leading edge and may travel side to side, but the system will not allow the worker to go over the edge.

To determine the force needed to restrain a worker, the force that the worker will generate by walking, leaning, or sliding down the working surface must be considered. OSHA has no specific standards for fall restraint systems; however, at a minimum, fall restraint systems should have the capacity to withstand at least 3,000 pounds of force, or twice the maximum expected force that is needed to restrain the worker from exposure to the fall hazard.

So, for the record and to be clear, the picture below is not a Fall Restraint System: maybe the only positive is that he is using a Buddy System!

2. Can Rigid Lifelines Provide a Rigid Rail Fall Restraint System?

The answer is yes, we can!

Rigid Lifelines offers a side-mounted Rigid Rail Fall Restraint system to our customers for fall restraint applications. If your application requires fall restraint, both guardrail systems and rigid rail systems can offer a solution. However, if traditional guardrail systems get in the way of your workers, Rigid Lifelines side-mount track might be the perfect fall restraint solution.

Our side-mount track uses a specially designed trolley that travels with the worker to keep him or her away from a leading edge or dangerous equipment. The enclosed rigid track is the same track used for our fall arrest systems, which ensures smooth trolley travel and keeps dust and debris out. Our side-mount track can be bolted, welded, or anchored to existing structures.

NOTE: Side-mount trolleys are for use in fall restraint applications only in conjunction with a fixed-length lightweight lanyard that is equipped with energy absorbers. The side-mount trolley is not designed to support the weight of a self-retracting device (SRD or SRL).

Applications for our side-mount track and trolley fall restraint systems include the following:

• Rooftop indoor and outdoor
• Industrial crane runways
• Wastewater treatment facilities
• Warehousing racking systems
• Shipping/docks/barges
• Advertising and billboards
• Transit

If you have questions on Rigid Lifelines Rigid Rail Fall
Restraint Systems, visit our Where to Buy webpage or
give us a call: USA/Canada: 1-800-869-2080
Local: 610-286-7200 Mexico: 1-610-286-7200.

About the Author

Scott Daly is the Director of Sales and Business Development for Rigid Lifelines. Scott has extensive industry knowledge with 20 years of experience in commercial and industrial fall protection.