[Title 49 CFR 214.105]
[Code of Federal Regulations (annual edition) - October 1, 2006 Edition]
[Title 49 - TRANSPORTATION]
[Subtitle B - Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued)]
[Chapter II - FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF]
[Part 214 - RAILROAD WORKPLACE SAFETY]
[Subpart B - Bridge Worker Safety Standards]
[Sec. 214.105 - Fall protection systems standards and practices.]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


49TRANSPORTATION42006-10-012006-10-01false214.105Sec. 214.105TRANSPORTATIONOther Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued)FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OFRAILROAD WORKPLACE SAFETYBridge Worker Safety Standards
Sec. 214.105  Fall protection systems standards and practices.

    (a) General requirements. All fall protection systems required by 
this subpart shall conform to the following:
    (1) Fall protection systems shall be used only for personal fall 
protection.
    (2) Any fall protection system subjected to impact loading shall be 
immediately and permanently removed from service unless fully inspected 
and determined by a competent person to be undamaged and suitable for 
reuse.
    (3) All fall protection system components shall be protected from 
abrasions, corrosion, or any other form of deterioration.
    (4) All fall protection system components shall be inspected prior 
to each use for wear, damage, corrosion, mildew, and other 
deterioration. Defective components shall be permanently removed from 
service.
    (5) Prior to use and after any component or system is changed, 
bridge workers shall be trained in the application limits of the 
equipment, proper hook-up, anchoring and tie-off techniques, methods of 
use, and proper methods of equipment inspection and storage.
    (6) The railroad or railroad contractor shall provide for prompt 
rescue of bridge workers in the event of a fall.
    (7) Connectors shall have a corrosion-resistant finish, and all 
surfaces and edges shall be smooth to prevent damage to interfacing 
parts of the system.
    (8) Connectors shall be drop forged, pressed or formed steel, or 
made of equivalent-strength materials.
    (9) Anchorages, including single- and double-head anchors, shall be 
capable of supporting at least 5,000 pounds per bridge worker attached, 
or shall be designed, installed, and used under supervision of a 
qualified person as part of a complete personal fall protection system 
that maintains a safety factor of at least two.
    (b) Personal fall arrest systems. All components of a personal fall 
arrest system shall conform to the following standards:
    (1) Lanyards and vertical lifelines that tie off one bridge worker 
shall have a minimum breaking strength of 5,000 pounds.
    (2) Self-retracting lifelines and lanyards that automatically limit 
free fall distance to two feet or less shall have components capable of 
sustaining a minimum static tensile load of 3,000 pounds applied to the 
device with the lifeline or lanyard in the fully extended position.
    (3) Self-retracting lifelines and lanyards that do not limit free 
fall distance to two feet or less, ripstitch, and tearing and deformed 
lanyards shall be capable of withstanding 5,000 pounds applied to the 
device with the lifeline or lanyard in the fully extended position.
    (4) Horizontal lifelines shall be designed, installed, and used 
under the supervision of a competent person, as part of a complete 
personal fall arrest system that maintains a safety factor of at least 
two.
    (5) Lifelines shall not be made of natural fiber rope.
    (6) Body belts shall not be used as components of personal fall 
arrest systems.
    (7) The personal fall arrest system shall limit the maximum 
arresting force on a bridge worker to 1,800 pounds when used with a body 
harness.
    (8) The personal fall arrest system shall bring a bridge worker to a 
complete stop and limit maximum deceleration distance a bridge worker 
travels to 3.5 feet.
    (9) The personal fall arrest system shall have sufficient strength 
to withstand twice the potential impact energy of a bridge worker free 
falling a distance of six feet, or the free fall distance permitted by 
the system, whichever is less.
    (10) The personal fall arrest system shall be arranged so that a 
bridge worker cannot free fall more than six feet and cannot contact the 
ground or any lower horizontal surface of the bridge.
    (11) Personal fall arrest systems shall be worn with the attachment 
point of the body harness located in the center of the wearer's back 
near shoulder level, or above the wearer's head.
    (12) When vertical lifelines are used, each bridge worker shall be 
provided with a separate lifeline.
    (13) Devices used to connect to a horizontal lifeline that may 
become a

[[Page 153]]

vertical lifeline shall be capable of locking in either direction.
    (14) Dee-rings and snap-hooks shall be capable of sustaining a 
minimum tensile load of 3,600 pounds without cracking, breaking, or 
taking permanent deformation.
    (15) Dee-rings and snap-hooks shall be capable of sustaining a 
minimum tensile load of 5,000 pounds.
    (16) Snap-hooks shall not be connected to each other.
    (17) Snap-hooks shall be dimensionally compatible with the member to 
which they are connected to prevent unintentional disengagement, or 
shall be a locking snap-hook designed to prevent unintentional 
disengagement.
    (18) Unless of a locking type, snap-hooks shall not be engaged:
    (i) Directly, next to a webbing, rope, or wire rope;
    (ii) To each other;
    (iii) To a dee-ring to which another snap-hook or other connector is 
attached;
    (iv) To a horizontal lifeline; or
    (v) To any object that is incompatibly shaped or dimensioned in 
relation to the snap-hook so that unintentional disengagement could 
occur.
    (c) Safety net systems. Use of safety net systems shall conform to 
the following standards and practices:
    (1) Safety nets shall be installed as close as practicable under the 
walking/working surface on which bridge workers are working, but shall 
not be installed more than 30 feet below such surface.
    (2) If the distance from the working surface to the net exceeds 30 
feet, bridge workers shall be protected by personal fall arrest systems.
    (3) The safety net shall be installed such that any fall from the 
working surface to the net is unobstructed.
    (4) Except as provided in this section, safety nets and net 
installations shall be drop-tested at the jobsite after initial 
installation and before being used as a fall protection system, whenever 
relocated, after major repair, and at six-month intervals if left in one 
place. The drop-test shall consist of a 400-pound bag of sand 30 inches, 
plus or minus two inches, in diameter dropped into the net from the 
highest (but not less than 3\1/2\ feet) working surface on which bridge 
workers are to be protected.
    (i) When the railroad or railroad contractor demonstrates that a 
drop-test is not feasible and, as a result, the test is not performed, 
the railroad or railroad contractor, or designated competent person, 
shall certify that the net and its installation are in compliance with 
the provisions of this section by preparing a certification record prior 
to use of the net.
    (ii) The certification shall include an identification of the net, 
the date it was determined that the net was in compliance with this 
section, and the signature of the person making this determination. Such 
person's signature shall certify that the net and its installation are 
in compliance with this section. The most recent certification for each 
net installation shall be available at the jobsite where the subject net 
is located.
    (5) Safety nets and their installations shall be capable of 
absorbing an impact force equal to that produced by the drop test 
specified in this section.
    (6) The safety net shall be installed such that there is no contact 
with surfaces or structures below the net when subjected to an impact 
force equal to the drop test specified in this section.
    (7) Safety nets shall extend outward from the outermost projection 
of the work surface as follows:
    (i) When the vertical distance from the working level to the 
horizontal plane of the net is 5 feet or less, the minimum required 
horizontal distance of the outer edge of the net beyond the edge of the 
working surface is 8 feet.
    (ii) When the vertical distance from the working level to the 
horizontal plane of the net is 5 feet, but less than 10 feet, the 
minimum required horizontal distance of the outer edge of the net beyond 
the edge of the working surface is 10 feet.
    (iii) When the vertical distance from the working level to the 
horizontal plane of the net is more than 10 feet, the minimum required 
horizontal distance of the outer edge of the net beyond the edge of the 
working surface is 13 feet.
    (8) Defective nets shall not be used. Safety nets shall be inspected 
at least once a week for mildew, wear, damage,

[[Page 154]]

and other deterioration. Defective components shall be removed 
permanently from service.
    (9) Safety nets shall be inspected after any occurrence that could 
affect the integrity of the safety net system.
    (10) Tools, scraps, or other materials that have fallen into the 
safety net shall be removed as soon as possible, and at least before the 
next work shift.
    (11) Each safety net shall have a border rope for webbing with a 
minimum breaking strength of 5,000 pounds.
    (12) The maximum size of each safety net mesh opening shall not 
exceed 36 square inches and shall not be longer than 6 inches on any 
side measured center-to-center of mesh ropes or webbing. All mesh 
crossing shall be secured to prevent enlargement of the mesh opening.
    (13) Connections between safety net panels shall be as strong as 
integral net components and shall be spaced not more than 6 inches 
apart.

[67 FR 1906, Jan. 15, 2002; 67 FR 11055, Mar. 12, 2002]