This online course will teach you the basics of fall protection, which is the use of equipment and techniques to prevent or minimize the effects of falling from heights. You will learn about the theory and practice of fall protection for different industries, such as construction, oil and gas, telecommunication, drilling and service rigs, power generation, and industrial environments.

This course is approved by Alberta Environment & Parks for Continuing Education Units.

In this course, you will learn about:

• The statistics and case studies of fall incidents and injuries

• The forces and speeds involved in falling and how they affect the body

• The different types of falls and how to prevent or reduce them

• The relevant legislation and standards for fall protection, including CSA and ANSI

• The common terms and definitions used in fall protection

• The process of hazard assessment, elimination, and control for fall protection

• The types and features of anchor systems, which are the points of attachment for fall protection equipment

• The types and functions of connecting components, such as snap hooks and carabiners, which are used to connect fall protection equipment

• The types and uses of lanyards, which are flexible lines that connect a harness to an anchor or a lifeline

• The concepts and methods of travel restraint and work positioning, which are techniques to prevent workers from reaching a fall hazard

• The types and purposes of energy absorbers, which are devices that reduce the impact of a fall

• The types and applications of self-retracting devices, which are devices that automatically retract or extend a lifeline as the worker moves

• The types and characteristics of life safety ropes, which are ropes that are designed and tested for fall protection

• The types and operations of vertical life lines and fall arrestors, which are systems that allow workers to move up and down a fixed line and stop a fall

• The types and principles of horizontal life lines, which are systems that allow workers to move horizontally along a flexible or rigid line

• The types and components of full body harnesses, which are devices that distribute the force of a fall over the body

• The concepts and calculations of free fall and total fall distance, which are the distances that a worker falls before and after the fall protection system activates

• The concept and calculation of maximum arresting force, which is the maximum force that a worker experiences during a fall arrest

• The concepts and requirements of clearance, which is the minimum distance needed below a worker to safely arrest a fall

• The hazards and prevention of swing fall, which is the pendulum motion that a worker experiences when falling off the vertical plane of the anchor point

• The maintenance, storage, and labeling of fall protection equipment

• The pre-use and formal inspections of fall protection equipment

• The manufacturer’s instructions for fall protection equipment

• The fall protection and rescue planning process

• The causes and symptoms of suspension trauma, which is a condition that can occur when a worker is suspended in a harness after a fall