Planning and Drilling a Fall Rescue

A fall arrest system that stops a fall leaves a person hanging in the air, maybe hurt, maybe unconscious. From that moment, the clock is running. Everyone agrees rescue matters, and many crews still have a plan that amounts to "call 911." Rescue that works has to be decided before the first worker ties off, for that location, with gear that is on site and people who have practiced. This is for leads, supervisors and rescue team members. It is not a substitute for hands-on rescue training. Performing a rescue takes that training, the right equipment and your own fall protection.

What You Will Be Able to Do

• Explain what prompt rescue means under OSHA's rules.
• Build a time budget for a rescue, and find where it fails.
• Pick a rescue method that fits a location.
• Assign the roles, gear and communications a rescue needs.
• Run a drill, and fix what it shows.

What the Rules Say

Neither gives a number of minutes. In a 2000 letter of interpretation, OSHA said "prompt" means quickly, in time to prevent serious injury from being suspended, and that the employer should have a reliable system in place to the extent feasible.

OSHA has also said that the construction rule does not require a rescue plan to be written, or a planning meeting to be held. That tells you the legal floor, not what works. Nobody can show that rescue is prompt without working it out in advance. The Appendix C guidance for construction says employers must plan to have the means to rescue. Your employer's program, or a client's site rules, will often require a written plan.

If a worker uses travel restraint and truly cannot fall, there is no arrested fall to rescue from.

How Long You Have

OSHA's 2011 bulletin on suspension trauma says that research shows suspension in a fall arrest device can lead to unconsciousness, followed by death, in less than 30 minutes. People vary. Head injury, shock, pain, dehydration, cold, heart or lung disease, and blood loss can all raise the risk. A worker who is unconscious or unable to move is in the most danger, because still legs let blood pool.

Many employers plan around a goal of reaching the worker within about 6 minutes, a figure widely linked to the ANSI/ASSP Z359.2 fall protection program standard. Treat that as a planning target. It is not a federal limit, and reaching the worker is not the same as getting them down.

Build a Time Budget

Take the job one step at a time, and write down how long each step really takes.

Worked example: A two-person crew services equipment on a warehouse platform 20 feet up. The plan is to use a rented boom lift parked at the far end of the building.

The worker is reached at 13 minutes and on the floor at 18. That plan is too slow. Three changes bring it down:

1. Park the lift at the work area, with the keys in it. Saves up to 7 minutes.
2. Keep the aisle clear while work is going on. Saves up to 3 minutes.
3. Stage a rescue kit on the platform for a rescuer who is already up there. It may reach the worker in under 6 minutes, with no lift at all.

Times on paper are guesses until you run a drill.

Choose the Method

Start by asking who could be hurt, and where they would hang. Then look at the worst spot on the job, not the easiest one. A plan that works at the near end of the roof may fail over the loading dock or above a machine.

Think about these site details:

• Over water, traffic or machinery. Can you stop the traffic or the line? Who has the authority to do it?
• Inside a tank or pit. A fall there may also involve confined space rules.
• Near power lines. Keep lifts and rescuers clear, and call the utility.
• Nights and weekends. Who is there then?
• Weather. Can the lift drive on the mud after rain?

Why 911 Alone Is Not a Plan

OSHA's Technical Manual notes that off-site responders may rescue suspended workers, but most 911 responders are not trained in how to do so. Before you rely on them, ask your local fire department. How long does it take to reach you? Does it have a high-angle rope team? Can it reach your roof? Would it visit the site to see? Call 911 for every fall, because the worker needs medical care. But have your own way to reach them while help is on the way.

Roles, Gear and Communications

Roles. Name people by job on each shift, and name backups.

On a two-person crew, one person cannot do all of that. If the crew is too small for the plan, the crew is too small for the job.

Gear. Keep it where the work is. A rescue kit in a locked truck across the site does not count. Check that:

• The kit reaches the longest drop on this job.
• It fits the anchors at this site.
• It holds the combined weight it needs to.
• It has been inspected, on the same schedule as other gear.

Communications. Radios or phones must work at that location. Check for signal in steel buildings and basements. The plan gives the street address and the gate to use, written down, because people forget in a crisis.

Warning: A rescuer who goes to the edge without protection can become a second fall. Never reach for a suspended worker unless you are tied off or protected. Stop any rescue that puts you at risk, and call for help.

Helping the Suspended Worker

Until they are down:

1. Talk to them. Tell them help is coming, and keep them talking.
2. Have them pump their legs. OSHA's bulletin says this keeps the muscles moving, and cuts the risk of blood pooling.
3. Use a foothold or relief straps. These take the pressure off and support leg movement.
4. Watch for warning signs: faintness, breathlessness, sweating, paleness, hot flashes, nausea, dizziness, or trouble seeing.
5. Keep an eye on them the whole time.

Once they are down, give normal first aid. Keep the airway open if they are unconscious, and start CPR if needed. Every worker who was suspended should be evaluated by a health care professional, even if they feel fine. OSHA notes that delayed effects, such as kidney failure, are hard to judge on the scene. Tell the medics how long the person was suspended.

Run a Drill

Reading the plan does not show you what breaks. A drill does.

1. Pick the worst spot, not the easiest.
2. Use a training dummy or a weighted bag at a realistic height, or a trained volunteer under proper rescue training conditions and supervision.
3. Do not warn people about the exact time, if your program allows that.
4. Use the real gear, from where it is really stored.
5. Run a clock. Record the time for each step in your budget.
6. Check the handoff, including the radio call and meeting the ambulance.
7. Debrief right away. Ask what slowed you down.

Worked example: A roofing crew's budget said 6 minutes. In the drill, it took 11. The kit was on the truck, not on the roof, which cost 3 minutes. Nobody could find the right anchor for the rescue line, which cost 2. They moved the kit to the roof, marked a rescue anchor, and ran it again in 7 minutes.

Drill when a new crew starts, when the site or method changes, and on the schedule your program sets. New sites need a walk-through at the least. Keep the training up to date, because skills that are not used fade.

After a Fall

1. Take care of the worker, and make sure they get medical attention.
2. Pull the gear from service. Anything that took the load stays out of use until a competent person clears it, and many makers require you to retire it. This includes harness, lanyard or SRL, and any anchor involved.
3. Secure the scene, and stop work in that area.
4. Report it. Employers must tell OSHA within 8 hours of a work-related death, and within 24 hours of an in-patient hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye. State plans can differ.
5. Find out why. Why did the fall happen? Did the rescue plan work?
6. Support the crew. A fall and rescue shake people up.
7. Update the plan before work starts again.

Common Mistakes

Check Your Understanding

1. A site says its rescue plan is good because it was never required in writing. Is that a good argument?

No. The construction rule may not require a written plan, but the employer must still provide prompt rescue. If nobody can say how, that requirement is not being met.

2. A plan keeps the rescue kit in a truck at the gate, a 7-minute walk from the work. The site's goal is to reach a worker in about 6 minutes. How would you judge it?

The walk alone misses the goal. Move the kit to the work.

3. A worker on a two-person crew falls and is left hanging. His partner has no radio signal on that level. What does this show about the plan?

Communications were never checked at that location, and the crew may be too small for the plan. Fix both before work continues.

4. Your only rescue lift works well on the slab. The job moves to a muddy lot after rain. What do you check?

Whether the lift can really reach the worker there. If not, change the method, such as a rescue kit from above.

5. A new crew starts next week on a site that already has a rescue plan and passed a drill last month. Is there anything to do?

Yes. Drill when a new crew starts, and make sure they know the roles, the gear and where it is kept.

Key Takeaways

• Prompt means quickly enough to prevent serious injury from suspension.
• OSHA reports that suspension can lead to unconsciousness and death in under 30 minutes, and the risk varies from person to person.
• Build a time budget step by step, then test it with a drill.
• Pick a method for the worst spot on the job, and keep the gear at the work.
• Most 911 responders are not trained in this, so have your own means of reaching the worker.
• Protect the rescuer, and have every rescued worker medically evaluated.