What is a pendulum fall, and how can you avoid it?
Pendulum falls occur when there is excessive slack in the rope line. When a fall occurs this excess allows the operator to swing freely enabling him to come into contact with nearby structures, which may result in injury.
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What is a pendulum fall?
A pendulum or swing fall is a type of fall that occurs when a person falls from the edge of a roof and the rope line they are attached to has too much slack, causing them to swing back and forth.
This swinging motion can put the person at risk of colliding with a wall or floor surface, which can result in serious injuries or even death.
This is an often overlooked risk when designing height safety solutions on projects. However, it is actually very easy to prevent.
How to avoid a pendulum fall
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Avoid excessive slack in the rope line
As a general rule, the user must always ensure the rope line is taught, which doesn’t allow any extra give to the rope and therefore, limits the possibility of a fall off the roof edge.
Slack rope line between the user and anchor could result in a fall causing severe injury or death. In the above example the user must adjust the rope line to remove the slack.
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Ensure the correct rope line length
The above image shows the correct rope line length.
This length limits access beyond the fall edge and provides a safe environment for the user to work within.
Always install an anti-pendulum anchor
When a user traverses into the corner of the roof, they’ll need to extend their rope line length to reach the corner, which then creates excessive slack. If the user tripped and fell off the roof, this extra length in the rope line will result in a pendulum fall.
The installation of an anti-pendulum or deviation anchor will allow the user to traverse into the corner without needing to extend their rope line to an unsafe length.
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Pendulum falls can be caused by user or system design errors
When designing a fall arrest system on a roof, always ensure the risk of a pendulum fall has been prevented, by including anti-pendulum anchors in the system design, and ensuring the system user has understood the proper operation procedure for the system.
If you are unsure about your system design speak to our team today.
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