5.1 DETERMINE REQUIRED FALL CLEARANCE
Determining fall clearance is critical in understanding the correct connecting device to use. The lower the clearance
height, the less options available to connect to the anchor point with. To Determine Fall Clearance several factors must
be considered:
Length of Anchorage connector (LA)
Length of Connecting device (LC)
Maximum Arrest Distance of connecting device (MAD)
Height of Worker (HW)
Safety Factor (SF) - (Includes harness stretch, typically 2')
Distance from Anchor Point to next closest obstruction (DAP)
Using the above information Fall Clearance (FC) can be determined with the following formula
Fall Clearance:
There must be sufficient clearance below the anchorage connector to arrest a fall before the user
strikes the ground or an obstruction. When calculating fall clearance, account for a MINIMUM 2' safety factor,
deceleration distance, user height, length of lanyard/SRL, and all other applicable factors. (See Figure 1)
(including all clothing, tools, and equipment) is 130-310 lbs. per ANSI Z359.18-2017
***Diagram shown is an example fall clear-
ance calculation ONLY.
Required
distance
from
Anchorage
(18' total)
FC (from anchor point)=LA+LC+MAD+HW+SF
FIGURE 1- DETERMINE REQUIRED FALL CLEARANCE
For all applications: worker weight capacity range
Weight capacity per OSHA is up to 420 lbs.
Fall Clearance Diagram
Lanyard Length
(6' Total)
Deceleration
distance (4' total)
Worker Height
(6' average)
Safety factor
(2' total)
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