Question 1

A worker doing mast maintenance falls and is arrested by their SRL about two metres below the work platform. They are conscious and call down that they think they can climb back up unaided using the structure.

What is the most appropriate immediate response?

Accepted Answer

Support a self-rescue attempt if genuinely safe and within their capability, but the deck observer/rescue coordinator should still activate the rescue plan in parallel and not assume self-rescue will succeed Self-rescue is the fastest option when it's genuinely viable, but a worker's confidence after a fall can be unreliable - fatigue, shock, or hidden injury can stop a self-rescue partway through. Running the assisted-rescue plan in parallel avoids losing time if self-rescue fails.

Question 2

What are the three broad categories a height-work rescue plan should cover, in increasing order of how much external help is needed?

Accepted Answer

Self-rescue, assisted (mechanically aided) rescue, and fully assisted rescue Self-rescue relies on the worker's own capability (e.g. a descent device); assisted/mechanically aided rescue uses a rope/haul system operated by colleagues; fully assisted rescue is needed when the casualty cannot participate at all.

Question 3

Why is using fall-arrest equipment WITHOUT a corresponding rescue capability considered unacceptable, even if the equipment itself functions correctly?

Accepted Answer

Because surviving the initial fall means nothing if the worker then dies of suspension trauma while waiting for help that was never planned A harness that arrests a fall but has no rescue plan behind it converts an immediate fall risk into a slower, equally fatal suspension trauma risk. Rescue planning is what makes fall-arrest equipment a complete safety system.