Research Suggests Sizing Improvements for Fall Protection Equipment
24 August, 2007
Falls are the leading cause of fatalities in the construction industry.
Fall arrest harnesses provide the last line of defence at construction sites where falls cannot be prevented. But according to the results of a study just published, current fall arrest harnesses did not properly fit at least 24% of the men and 31% of the women in the study.
Current sizing for commercial harnesses is derived from 1970s-1980s
anthropometric (human body) measurements of members of the military services. These data do not represent today's civilian worker population, which has become more diverse and now includes more women. The result is greater variation in workers' range of body dimensions and shapes.
The authors of this study obtained anthropometric data from multiracial men
and women age 18 to 56 who had selected harnesses they felt fit them the best.
These participants were then scanned with a 3-D full-body scanner, first while standing and then while being suspended by the harness.
After integrating criteria established for the harness manufacturing industry with the body measurement data from the study participants, the researchers created a comprehensive test for assessing the overall fit of the harnesses."This will help harness designers to restructure current harness sizing plans . . . to accommodate at least 96% of the population," they concluded. They believe that adoption of this new system by harness manufacturers can help the construction industry reduce the risk of injuries and fatalities from improper size selection and fit.
To date, two fall arrest harness manufacturers have worked to transfer the research results into design practice.