Whenever someone is working at a height, various steps need to be taken to prevent the risk of injury or death due to a fall. Not only is addressing the risk of a fall required for insurance purposes as an employer—it’s also the law.
Two of the key terms to know about are fall protection and fall prevention. While both may relate to mitigating the risks of working a height, they have some essential differences to note.
Metreel is a leading supplier of fall protection systems and equipment.
In this post, we’ll give you an overview of fall prevention vs fall protection to help you understand the best ways to create a safe working environment.
Fall Prevention
Remember the saying ‘A stitch in time saves nine’?
Fall prevention is similar in that the aim is to act now because otherwise, a worse outcome is possible.
By undertaking fall prevention, we use our knowledge of how falls can occur so that measures can be put in place to prevent a fall from occurring. The exact strategies will depend on the threats that may be present based on the work that takes place at a height.
For example, are there any ledges or potential trip hazards that need to be accounted for?
Some fall prevention measures may include:
- Enclosed scaffolding
- Equipment modifications
- Guardrails
- Hole covers
- Visual warnings
Fall prevention is important as it has the potential to vastly reduce if not eliminate the chances of a fall occurring.
Since the risk of a fall has been considered in advance, there is also less reliance on worker engagement which can reduce the chances of human error.
Fall Protection
Even with the best fall prevention methods in place, in some scenarios fall prevention methods may prove impractical or insufficient.
For instance, when there is a need to perform a task where there is an obvious risk due to working at a height on a roof or a building with an unguarded edge. In such scenarios, it is not always feasible to install guardrails, meaning another type of safety solution is required.
Fall protection adds an extra layer of security, as it’s designed to minimise the risk of injury if a fall were to occur.
Examples of fall protection equipment include:
- Lifelines
- Personal fall arrest systems (PFAS)
- Self-retracting lanyards (SRLs):
- Safety nets
While various fall protections exist, the benefits are that they have been designed to combat the risks that are present. For instance, a self-retracting lanyard will arrest to limit the distance of the fall to prevent injury, while also allowing the wearer to retain mobility.
In Summary
In most comparison articles, it’s usually the case that one option is better than the other. But when it comes to fall prevention vs fall protection, both strategies are critical to preventing the risk of injury due to a fall.
The main difference is that when fall prevention doesn’t go far enough to eliminate the risk or simply isn’t feasible based on the application, fall protection can be worn or installed to increase the level of safety protection.
Metreel – Discover Our Solutions To Protect Your Team When Working At A Height
Metreel is a leading supplier of fall protection equipment. If you are searching for ways to protect your team while working at a height, then you’re in the right place.
Take a look around our website to view our vast range of fall arrest, fall protection, access ladders and abseil equipment. Alternatively, you can learn more about our products by downloading the free Metreel brochure.
Or, if you’d like to speak to our team about finding the best solutions to suit your needs, then please drop us a message or give us a call on 0115 647 0422.