Page 14 - Metal Plus Interactive Catalog

METAL PLUS LLC

The Myth of the 5000 lb. Anchor Point

(Does it Exist in 2019)

Choosing the What most people miss at
right anchor the end of this is clause
point can be is the “or.” Continuing on,
difficult. OSHA says, “or shall be

The main criteria most designed, installed, and used
as follows: as part of a com-
people look for when plete personal fall arrest
shopping for an anchor system which maintains a
point is that it will with- safety factor of at least two;”
stand a 5000 lbs. load.
The next code, 1926.502(d)
(16), speaks of these person-
Though that is the main al fall arrest systems.
selling feature on some
anchor points, there are times when your attachment Jumping down to 1926.502(d)(16)(v), speaking of per-
may fail before 5000 lbs. What good is an anchor sonal fall arrest systems (ie, anchor points, lifelines,
point that can hold 5000 lbs when it will shear off etc.), OSHA states the anchorage must, “...have
your wall or building far before reaching its capac- sufficient strength to withstand twice the potential
ity?
impact energy of an employee free falling a distance
A 5000 lbs. anchor point may of 6 feet (1.8 m), or the free fall distance permitted by
the system, whichever is less.”
not be required according
to OSHA. There seems to be various theories as to why OSHA
By misinterpreting the OSHA ruling on anchor points, settled on 5000 lbs. In fact, when testing systems,
you are significantly limiting yourself in areas that you are required to use a weight of 220 lbs. (plus or
are already lacking options. Let’s clear up what minus 3 lbs.) at a freefall of 6’ [29 CFR 1926 Subpart
OSHA says about the load requirements of anchor M Appendix C].
points.
The system would fail the force test if it recorded
Why do we believe this 5000 greater than 2520 lbs. of force during this test. If the
lbs rule? system passes, a safety factor of two applied to 2520
lbs. would be approximately 5000 lbs. However, 5000
For starters, OSHA 1926.502(d)(15) says “Anchorages lbs. is where many people stop reading.
used for attachment of personal fall arrest equip-
ment shall be … capable of supporting at least 5,000 Why does this matter?
pounds (22.2 kN) per employee attached…”
It matters because the forces incurred during a fall
This is certainly the simplest method of of a 220 lb. worker who is utilizing a fall arrest system
ensuring compliance. However, stopping here does could be approximately 900 lbs., not 2500 lbs. Rea-
not allow specific fall hazards to be addressed due son being that fall arrest systems have some type of
to a lack of structural integrity. deceleration device that engages after freefall and
reduces the force.

860-379-1327 I 14 I metalplusllc.com