# Positioning Harness



## TBFGhost (Oct 9, 2008)

So, I have spent some time in a fall protection harness...a crappy company one, and am going to get my own. I notice most have positioning rings on them. How do you use the positioning part of the harness? 

IE, If I am working on dormers, can I use this part of the harness with a second rope to "hang" on the roof...you know, use the harness to keep me in place instead of sliding off?

Where can I get more info on this?


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## JustaFramer (Jan 21, 2005)

You use positioning hooks aka p-hooks. P-hooks are not considered apart of fall arrest. So you would still have to be tied off with a rope, retractable, or lanyard with hooks. 

Finding a way to hook off of wood will require some metal. Might not work on finished product stuff. 

When I was using that stuff. I was building gang forms or rebar. They are great for vertical applications were leaning back on the p-hooks allowed work to be down with both hands.


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## Repairman615 (Jan 10, 2011)

When I built bridges over a decade ago, we used the positioning harness alot. While rod busting (tieing steel rebar), it was great to climb and tie.

Here is what we used to hang onto the steel.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Twist-L...229?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3370c93b65

I think it would be a bit awkward to try and benifit from an arms reach hanging on a dormer or eve. Never know though, it could come in real handy if you figure out a great method.:clap:


Jeff


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## TBFGhost (Oct 9, 2008)

....I would imagine roofers would use a P harness on steep roofs....


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## Mr Latone (Jan 8, 2011)

Here is a little sheet from *OSHA* describing some of what you are after.

You might be involved in two different situations doing the work you described:

Fall restraint - a system where the worker cannot physically reach the fall hazard due to the restraint of the system

Fall arrest - A system designed to arrest the fall of the worker within a specified distance (6 ft). In this situation the worker can physically experience a fall (arrested).

I believe the D hook on the back of a full body harness must be used for fall arrest, but if you are in compliance with the fall restraint guidelines, the positioning hooks should be allowed.

OSHA 1926.502 the basic standards

While the object is safety, we do not want to incur penalties for noncompliance when we are trying our best to be in compliance. If we are purposeful in our implementation of fall restraint and fall arrest and have made a reasonable effort to understand the guidelines, we should be 100% comfortable in any contact we might have with a compliance officer (sure it's easy to say :whistling)


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## TBFGhost (Oct 9, 2008)

Mr Latone said:


> Here is a little sheet from *OSHA* describing some of what you are after.
> 
> You might be involved in two different situations doing the work you described:
> 
> ...



The company harnesses are used in fall arrest. Lifelines, shock abosorbers, etc etc. I guess I am looking more in the fall restraint....I cannot fall off the roof if my harness and lifeline only allow me to reach where I want to work, but not go past and fall over the edge.


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## BlackBearLadder (Feb 4, 2012)

When you use positioning rings on a harness they must be used with a lanyard or positioning device (such as a rebar chain assembly) less than 2 feet long. This is because any longer lanyard will create more force than is allowed by OSHA on your body. (Even a 6 foot shock absorbing lanyard can create up to 900lbs. of force on you in a fall). If you a working on a low slope roof (less than 4/12) you can use a positioning device that prevents you from reaching leading edge. With steep pitch roofs you must use fall protection (shock absorbing lanyard on your back d-ring) As for dormers, etc. use shingle brackets, single ladder with roof hooks, bronco job horse or chimney brackets to reachthe dormer.


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## Blackfly (Feb 9, 2012)

Hi, 

I'm new here, but come from an industry where work positioning is our method of choice. By trade, I'm an IRATA Supervisor; thats 'Industrial Rope Access & Trade Association", we are essentially industrial "mountaineers", that perform all scopes of work(electrical / construction / rescue / inspection) etc, in areas that cannot be accessed by traditional means, like on tall structures, confined spaces, and hazardous environments. I'm switching trades to carpentry, in the hopes of spending more time with my family.

So, as per your question, and as per the excellent advice in the above posts, here's a little info that might help.

1) Fall arrest is a system designed to minimize the effects of a fall, when working in an environment where a fall could occur. -scaffold assembly, unprotected edges, sloped roofs you can stand on, gantries without handrails, zoom-boom & lift operation etc.
Eg-self retracting lanyards on a dorsal harness attached to overhead anchors.
Eg-shock absorbing lanyards on a dorsal harness, attached to overhead anchors.

2) Fall Restraint is a system designed to prevent falls altogether. Handrails are fall restraint systems, as are lanyard/harness systems that prevent you from being exposed to a fall, such as a fixed waist belt with a leash that prevents you from getting within six feet of a ledge, or prevents you from falling out of an open window.

3)Work Positioning is a system that suspends you, like a bosuns chair & harness for a window washer, and works in conjunction with a back up system that is fully capable of arresting a fall. IRATA technicians use a dual rope climbing system, complete with two independent anchors, that provides a fully redundant working system in the event of a failure of the other.

As a direct answer to your question, you can use a telecoms tower technician an a good example. They use a "Fall Arrest" system that provides 100% tie off through the use of a double lanyard. They then position themselves with a positioning belt, which is an adjustable strap attached to the two "positioning" loops on the sides of the harness.
By using the lanyards to safely climb into position, then using the positioning strap as a third hand (NOT AS A FALL ARRESTOR!), it permits them to stand on a structure with both hands fee to work.
If you don't have anything to stand on, then this does not apply. 

Here are some useful links:

http://www.petzl.com/en/pro/works/framing-and-roofing

http://www.irata.org

http://www.sprat.ca

http://www.ropeworks.com/

And a little video from yours truely.......

http://youtu.be/ZGCKxN6VgCw

Hope this helps! Stay safe.

PT


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