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Can I Use My Rock Climbing Equipment As Industrial Fall Protection?

Whenever someone is attempting to access an area at height, it’s always important for them to use some form of fall protection.  And even though there are significant differences between the equipment requirements for sport and workplace safety applications, it’s always helpful to have a clear understanding of why some equipment is best applied to one circumstance, but never applied to another one.

During the sport of rock climbing, one of the primary goals (and rewards) of the sport is being able to climb up to an area hundreds of feet in the air that would be otherwise unknown to human eyes and hands. Since rock climbers are regularly exposing themselves to those dangerous heights, they understand that they need to use specialized safety equipment to prevent serious injury. But, when people are at work and they are in an industrial setting, the heights and nature of their height hazards are different because they are focused on the job that they need to do, instead of the rock climber who is at height for pleasure. Since the workplace is a different environment, people in the workplace require other types of fall protection equipment.  

Rock climbers adhere to the equipment guidelines and standards that are set forth by the International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (UIAA) for their personal safety, whereas people who are involved with general industry and construction safety are required by law to adhere to the height guidelines set forth by OSHA and encouraged to adhere to ANSI Z359 standards. Both of those organizations are committed to the safety of people who are accessing height. However, rock climbers are using their equipment guidelines for sport safety whereas other people are using their guidelines for workplace safety. The differences in equipment are related to the type of fall that a worker at height would experience versus the type of fall that a rock climber at height would face. 

Even though the circumstances between sport and workplace applications are different, there are some basic similarities in regards to the core ideology and logic behind staying safe at height.  When rock climbers are learning about fall protection, their equipment checklist sounds similar to the list that is referenced during workplace height safety training (also known as the “ABC’s of Fall Protection”). In the workplace, people are trained about height safety with the first four letters of the alphabet; workers need to have an Anchorage, a [full] Body harness, a Connector, and a Deceleration device in order to have a complete Personal Fall Arrest System.  On a similar note, when climbers are learning about fall protection safety, they are encouraged to find a good anchorage location, use a [waist] body harness, and attach to their anchorage system with connectors (ropes and carabiners). The premise behind any fall protection system typically uses the same general ideas. And that’s why the application of the fall protection becomes one of the most crucial elements in establishing the appropriate safety equipment.    

In the workplace, people are usually getting exposed to heights because they need to access the top of large vehicles, storage units, machines, or buildings. A majority of the time, people will need to go to those different areas because they are either in the construction process or they are performing some type of maintenance. Whether they are doing construction or maintenance tasks, people will invariably be carrying tools that could be heavy and other types of equipment that could influence the worker’s balance. But, when people are participating in the sport of rock climbing, the only items that they will need to have with them are pieces of safety equipment—all of which are designed to be relatively lightweight—and climbers only have equipment with them if they are climbing outdoors on specific types of rock faces. 

Also, when workers are moving around on top of equipment or vehicles, they are usually on their feet. When rock climbers are scaling a wall, they are using both of their hands and their feet as points of contact against the wall. For this reason, rock climbers have a better sense of control and stability while they are navigating heights. Workers could easily lose their balance and fall when they only have their feet as a point of contact at height.

Two of the biggest differences between rock climbing and workplace fall protection pertain to the harness and the deceleration device. Workplace fall protection harnesses are full body harnesses that have a dorsal and/or sternal D-Ring attachment area. The D-Rings are placed in those areas because workers generally have vertical falls and placing them in a harness with an anchorage connection in that area keeps the worker upright. However, a rock climbing harness only goes around the waist and legs. This style of harness is preferred for climbers because they could fall at a variety of different angles. If a climber were to fall from any angle while wearing a full body harness, studies conducted by the UIAA have proven that a full body harness would put the climber at a higher risk for neck and spinal injuries.  So, to reduce the impact of fall arrest on a climber’s body, the UIAA established that waist harnesses are safer for rock climber usage. Note, per OSHA and ANSI Z359- never use a body belt in a fall arrest application. Body belts are acceptable for fall restraint only. See ANSI Z359 for further clarification.

As far as deceleration devices are concerned, there is a huge difference between what is an acceptable device for fall arrest in the workplace and in the sport of rock climbing.  In the workplace, falls should be arrested through the use of either a rip stitch lanyard or a self-retracting lanyard. These are preferred for the workplace because they provide the most controlled and immediate arrest of downward movement. But, in rock climbing, a dynamic (or semi-stretchy) rope is the deceleration device.  Rock climbers use ropes because they need to be able to connect to more anchorage points as they are moving along a rock face. When workers are using fall protection at their jobs, they are tied off to either a specific anchorage point, or their anchorage is following them along an overhead track system. The rock climber needs the rope because they will be covering various distances during their climbing route with anchorages that they will tie onto as they progress on the wall.

Although the general concepts behind fall protection are the same, there are always going to be exceptions to rules. Always assess your situation before putting yourself at a dangerous height. And remember, if you’re not sure what safety devices to use, ask someone who knows. Until the next time, stay safe up there!

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