Document Number

CEGELEC
CEG-HSE-0005
Revision Number
SHE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM 00
FALL PROTECTION PLAN AND Page Number

EMERGENCY RESCUE PROCEDURE 1 of 11

CEGELEC

FALL PROTECTION PLAN AND

EMERGENCY RESCUE
PROCEDURE

Originated By Approved By

Name MUTOMBO BANZA DAVID LWAMBA NSUNDE GRADY

Designation SITE HSE MANAGER SITE MANAGER

Signature

Date 10.10.2023 10.10.2023

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 Document Number
CEGELEC
CEG-HSE-0005
Revision Number
SHE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM 00
FALL PROTECTION PLAN AND Page Number

EMERGENCY RESCUE PROCEDURE 1 of 11

CONTENTS

JOB TASK:...............................................................................................................................................3
Person Responsible For Working at Height Rescue (WAH)................................................................5
Communication:......................................................................................................................................5
Emergency Contact:................................................................................................................................5
Safety of Rescuers:..................................................................................................................................5
Testing the Plan.......................................................................................................................................7
Protecting Others.....................................................................................................................................7
Protecting the Scene................................................................................................................................7
Other Considerations:.............................................................................................................................7
Introduction.............................................................................................................................................8
The Time Frame......................................................................................................................................8
Suspension Trauma – Orthostatic Intolerance........................................................................................8
Venous pooling - The need to faint and fall over...................................................................................8
The Need for a Rescue Plan....................................................................................................................9
Critical Phases of Rescue........................................................................................................................9
Before the fall..........................................................................................................................................9
At fall arrest............................................................................................................................................9
Suspension............................................................................................................................................10
Rescue...................................................................................................................................................10
First Aid Procedures..............................................................................................................................10
What to look out for - If a worker is suspended in a harness................................................................10
Methods of Rescue..................................................................................................................................11
Crane Man Basket Rescue....................................................................................................................11
Aerial Work Platforms Rescue (AWP).................................................................................................11
Rope Access Rescue.............................................................................................................................11
Third Party Rescue Systems.................................................................................................................11
Reference............................................................................................................................................ 112

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CEG-HSE-0005
Revision Number
SHE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM 00
FALL PROTECTION PLAN AND Page Number

EMERGENCY RESCUE PROCEDURE 1 of 11

JOB TASK:
Work at Height Dates: From: ……………………… To: ……………………

What is task(s) to be performed? Check all that apply:

o Inspect scaffold
o QC function
o Tie rebar
o Build or dismantle scaffold
o Hang gang forms
o Apply form release
o Paint
o Core Drill
o Hang temp lights or extension cord
o Pour concrete
o Operate concrete vibrator
o Finish concrete
o Material handling
o Offloading
o Other. ___________________________________________________________

Names of employees who are involved in the work at height:

Printed Name Signature
1. ______________ _______________
2. ______________ _______________
3. ______________ _______________
4. ______________ _______________
5. ______________ _______________
6. ______________ _______________
7. ______________ _______________
8. _____________ _______________
9. ______________ _______________
10. ______________ _______________
11. ______________ _______________
12. ______________ _______________
13. ______________ _______________
14. ______________ _______________
15. ______________ _______________

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 Document Number
CEGELEC
CEG-HSE-0005
Revision Number
SHE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM 00
FALL PROTECTION PLAN AND Page Number

EMERGENCY RESCUE PROCEDURE 1 of 11

Person Responsible For Working at Height Rescue (WAH)

Printed Name Signature
________________________ _________________________

Printed Name (Backup) Signature

________________________ _________________________

As always, if someone is not in charge, everyone is in charge. Thus, establish the person to be in charge in
advance with a backup should it be necessary.

Communication:
What communication systems will be used between the suspended worker and supervisor / rescue team?
 Direct voice communication
 Whistle
 Mobile Phone
 Two-way Radios / Headsets

Emergency Contact:
In the event of an emergency / fall from height the WAH supervisor shall immediately alert:
1) Fire Department
2) EMT (Kamoa Emergency Management Team)
3) HSE Manager

Safety of Rescuers:
1) Are employees competent in the use of rescue equipment?
a. Yes
b. No
2) Are rescue training records up to date?
a. Yes
b. No
3) Is there a sufficient number of rescuers available?
a. Yes
b. No
c. Number?
4) Is rescue equipment selected appropriate for the nature of work?
a. Yes
b. No
5) What obstructions are in the way of reaching the suspended employee?
a. _________________________________________________
6) What is the plan to overt the obstruction?
a. _________________________________________________
7) Have assessments been made of anchor points?
a. Yes
b. No
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Revision Number
SHE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM 00
FALL PROTECTION PLAN AND Page Number

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8) What is the actual plan to rescue the suspended employee? Check all that apply.
o Ladder
o Man Lift
o Crane with Basket
o Forklift with Basket
o Winch
o Tripod and Winch
o Descent Rescue Kit
o Suspended Access Equipment
o Climbing Rope Rescue System
o Stokes Basket
o Pull employee in through window / balcony
o Pull employee up through floor, slab or roof
o Affix rope, cable, etc. to “D” ring of suspended employee. Raise suspended employee
slightly then unhook their primary lanyard.
o Raise suspended employee.
o Lower suspended employee

Testing the Plan

1) Has the plan been tested?
a. Yes
b. No
c. When? ______________
2) Please describe the rescue process.
a. ____________________________________________________
b. ____________________________________________________
3) How long did it take to complete the rescue?
a. ______________________

Protecting Others
How will others be protected?
o Move non-essential personnel to a muster point.
o Set up a barricade.
o Curtail traffic to the area.

Protecting the Scene

How will the scene be protected from change prior to completing a full assessment of the root cause?
o Keep non-essential personnel out of the area.
o Begin assessing the scene immediately after the suspended person has been treated and moved from
the area.
o Preserve wreckage.
o Report the incident immediately to the proper channels.
o Obtain approval to photograph the scene.

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CEG-HSE-0005
Revision Number
SHE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM 00
FALL PROTECTION PLAN AND Page Number

EMERGENCY RESCUE PROCEDURE 1 of 11

Other Considerations:
o Are employees using the buddy system?
o Yes
o No
o How are you checking on employees working in remote areas?
o ____________________________________________
o Are there unusual features of the building or structure that could hide a person from view in the event
of an incident?
o Yes ________________________________________
o No
o Are you aware of weather conditions?
o Yes
o No
o Changing conditions ______________________________
o Is a translator available?
o Yes
o No

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 Document Number
CEGELEC
CEG-HSE-0005
Revision Number
SHE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM 00
FALL PROTECTION PLAN AND Page Number

EMERGENCY RESCUE PROCEDURE 1 of 11

Introduction
When an employee is suspended in mid-air after a fall, their lives hang in the balance - even if they have
survived the fall without a scratch. Every second counts. The intention of this plan is to assist in
understanding the implications of a worker falling, being arrested and then suspended by a harness, which
initially saves them, but minutes later may kill them due to suspension trauma.
More than just helping to understand why this happens, this plan will assist in preventing a fatality caused
by suspension trauma.

The Time Frame

After the fall, the employee will hang in an upright posture with the legs relaxed straight beneath the body.
Within five (5) minutes, the suspended employee may become unconscious. Being suspended in this
manner may cause death within 15 minutes due to suspension trauma. The table below indicates both time
and distance on how far someone can fall in just a few second from top to the ground.

TIME (Secondes Distance(Meter)

0.5 1.2
1 5
1.5 11
2 20
2.5 31
3 44
4 78

Suspension Trauma – Orthostatic Intolerance

Unless the suspended employee is rescued promptly using established safe procedures, suspension trauma
caused by orthostatic intolerance could occur and result in serious or fatal injury as the brain, kidneys and
other organs are deprived of oxygen. Most users of fall protection equipment are unaware of the hazard of
suspension trauma.

Venous pooling - The need to faint and fall over

Death from suspension trauma is caused by orthostatic intolerance and is the result of venous pooling. This
can occur any time a person is required to stand still for prolonged periods and may be worsened by heat and
dehydration. Major blood vessels pass through the muscles in the legs. The movement of these muscles
assists circulation by squeezing the blood back up towards the heart. If the muscles stop moving, gravity
pulls the blood down into the legs.

Eventually, enough blood accumulates (venous pooling) so that return blood flow to the right chamber of the
heart is reduced as the heart can only pump the blood available, so its output begins to fall. The heart then
speeds up to maintain sufficient blood flow to the brain but, if the blood supply to the heart is restricted
enough, the higher pulse and faster breathing is ineffective, and the body abruptly slows the heart. The result
is fainting.

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Revision Number
SHE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM 00
FALL PROTECTION PLAN AND Page Number

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The moment a person loses consciousness they collapse and become horizontal, so the time spent in a
vertical position while unconscious is minimal and, as blood flow improves - the result of being horizontal -
the person returns to consciousness and recovery is likely to be rapid.

When an employee is suspended in a harness in which their legs are immobile, unlike fainting, the person
does not or cannot naturally move into a horizontal position, then gravity pulls blood into the lower legs. In
a harness, the employee can't fall into a horizontal posture, so the reduced heart rate causes the brain's blood
supply to fall below the critical level. During excessive venous pooling, cardiac output and arterial pressure
fall to levels, which can critically reduce the quantity and/or the quality of oxygenated blood flowing to the
brain.

Three things that occur which aggravate the problem:

1) The employee is suspended in an upright posture with legs dangling.
2) The safety harness straps exert pressure on leg veins (femoral arteries), compressing them and reducing
blood flow back to the heart.
3) The harness keeps the employee in an upright position, regardless of loss of consciousness.

Loss of consciousness assures that a suspended person will not be moving their limbs; so venous pooling
will increase which will in turn reduce the circulating blood volume even further. This includes not only a
potentially fatal reduced blood flow to the brain, but also the other vital organs, such as the kidneys. The
kidneys are highly sensitive to blood oxygen levels and renal failure because of excessive venous pooling is
a real possibility.
Injuries suffered during the fall, or the shock resulting from the experience of the fall, can increase the onset
and severity of venous pooling and orthostatic intolerance, as can physical and environmental factors such as
fatigue, dehydration, hypothermia, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, and blood loss. The time
spent in an unmoving suspended position, with the legs below the heart, is what kills.

The Need for a Rescue Plan

The suspended employee faces considerable danger after a fall, through the lack of a thought-out, detailed
and fully implemented rescue plan. It is now a legal requirement of the ‘Work at Height Regulations 2005’
to have a rescue plan. The best rescue strategy is to take every possible precaution to prevent employees
from falling in the first place.

But the reality is that falls happen, and a rescue plan is an essential component of the CEGELEC overall fall
protection method statement and risk assessment. The lack of any form of a pre-conceived post-fall rescue
plan not only puts the fall victim at risk but also puts rescuers in harm's way. Whenever there are unplanned
attempts to rescue, second or third injuries or fatalities may not be uncommon.

Critical Phases of Rescue

The responsibility to have a post-fall rescue system in place lies with CEGELEC as the employer. Listed
below are the four critical phases of rescuing a suspended employee:
1) Before the fall.
2) At fall arrest.
3) Suspension.
4) Post-fall rescue.

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Each phase presents unique safety challenges. Suspension trauma can be influenced by all aspects of the
fall, so they are all equally important. As with many aspects of safety, increasing the safety in one phase can
compromise safety in the others. Whatever training employees have received will determine how they
respond to different phases.

Before the fall

The key issue of fall protection prior to a fall is compliance. If a harness is too uncomfortable, too
inconvenient or interferes too much with task completion, employees may not use the equipment or may
modify it (illegally) to make it more tolerable.

A second major point is how far from an employee fall before his fall is arrested. The greater the fall, the
greater the stress on the body when the fall is arrested. The longer the lanyard the longer the fall distance,
however, the shorter the lanyard, the more often it will have to be repositioned when employees are mobile.
Restraint lifelines are the preferred method of working because it allows maximum flexibility. Working in
restraint prevents the employee from falling, yet should a fall occur the arrest distance is kept to a minimum
(limited fall).

At fall arrest
The whole concept of fall protection is that employees who fall will be stopped by a tethering system.
Unfortunately, the posture of the falling employee is unpredictable. Depending on the harness attachment
point and the position of the employee's body at fall arrest, different harness attachments offer different
advantages. An attachment near the shoulders means that any drag from the lanyard will serve to position
the employee's body in an upright position so the forces are distributed from head to foot. The head is
somewhat protected if the legs and body precede it in the fall, but this offers some disadvantages after the
fall arrest is completed.

Suspension
It is natural to assume that once a fall has been arrested then the fall protection system has successfully
completed its job. Unfortunately, this is not the case. An employee suspended in an upright position with
the legs dangling in a harness of any type is subject to suspension trauma and orthostatic intolerance.

Fall victims can slow the onset of suspension trauma by pushing down vigorously with the legs, by
positioning their body in a slight leg-high position or, by standing up. Harness design and fall injuries may
prevent these actions.

Rescue
Rescue must come rapidly to minimize the dangers of suspension trauma. The circumstances together with
the lanyard attachment point will determine the possibility of self-rescue. In situations where self-rescue is
not possible, employees must be supervised at all times. Regardless of whether an employee can self-rescue
or must rely on others, time is of the essence because an employee may lose consciousness in only a few
minutes.

For conscious rescues it is recommended (where possible) that the suspended person keep their legs moving
to keep the blood pumping and reduce the risk of venous pooling.

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CEGELEC
CEG-HSE-0005
Revision Number
SHE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM 00
FALL PROTECTION PLAN AND Page Number

EMERGENCY RESCUE PROCEDURE 1 of 11

First Aid Procedures

Following completion of evidence-based review of published medical literature: HSE has clarified guidance
on the first aid management of a person falling into suspension in a harness who may develop 'suspension
trauma'. The key recommendations are:
 No change should be made to the standard first aid guidance for the post recovery of a semi-
conscious or unconscious person in a horizontal position.
 No change should be made to the standard first aid guidance.
 A casualty who is experiencing pre-syncopal symptoms or who is unconscious whilst suspended in a
harness shall be rescued as soon as is safely possible.
 If the rescuer is unable to immediately release a conscious casualty from a suspended position,
elevation of the legs by the suspended employee or rescuer where safely possible may prolong
tolerance of suspension.

What to look out for - If a worker is suspended in a harness

The possible signs and symptoms of orthostatic intolerance can start to be seen in 2 to 3 minutes and can
include:
 Faintness
 Nausea
 Breathlessness
 Dizziness
 Sweating
 Unusually low heart rate
 Unusually low blood pressure
 Paleness
 Hot flushes
 Skin tone may appear grey in color.
 Loss of vision
 Increased heart rate

Upon rescue from height, the employee shall be transported to the hospital for examination and observation.

Methods of Rescue
Although there are numerous methods to rescue a suspended employee, here are a few methods to consider
by CEGELEC during our project.

Crane Man Basket Rescue

This option has severe limitations, the main one being time. Target time from 'Man Down' to being
recovered needs to be no more than five minutes. Other restrictions and shortcomings that make this a less
than ideal solution are:
 The crane is out of action for some reason, e.g., it may be 'winded-off'.
 The driver may be away from the crane.
 Rescue by crane is limited to building facades and often is not able to provide access and rescue
internal to the structure.
 The crane man basket may be in the wrong location.

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CEG-HSE-0005
Revision Number
SHE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM 00
FALL PROTECTION PLAN AND Page Number

EMERGENCY RESCUE PROCEDURE 1 of 11

Aerial Work Platforms Rescue (AWP)

This option for rescue can have its limitations such as available access and height restriction as the
suspended employee may be at a height greater than the reach of the AWP.

Rope Access Rescue

Rope rescue requires a technical competency, which demands a high level of training and re-training to
acquire and retain this skill set. Given the limited time to complete a rescue, trained rope rescue personnel
would need to be on stand-by and within proximity to any incident. Donning the necessary kit to carry out a
rope rescue can also be time consuming given that every minute the casualty is hanging is critical. Perhaps
the greatest restriction is that it is a skill to which only a few would, or could, be trained.

Third Party Rescue Systems

There are several considerations to take into account when considering third part rescue systems. In every
consideration TIME is the critical factor and should be done as quickly as possible, but 100 percent safe for
the rescue crew. The speed with which the system can be deployed, and the rescue carried out is vitally
important, as is the SIMPLICITY and EASE of use so that a typical employee can deploy and carry out a
rescue after being trained.

Whichever methodology is chosen, the target time should be to rescue the suspended employee in under five
minutes.

This is a living document that shall be audited and updated:

 At least annually.
 As required due to a rescue process change or implemented.
 As the result of lessons learned from testing the plan or having to utilize the plan to perform a rescue.

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CEGELEC
CEG-HSE-0005
Revision Number
SHE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM 00
FALL PROTECTION PLAN AND Page Number

EMERGENCY RESCUE PROCEDURE 1 of 11

REFERENCES:
- Working at-height presentation(ppt) Jun. 12, 2015, INDUSTRIAL ENERGY SOLUTIONS
(HPCL-MITTAL ENERGY LTD )
- Working at height, IMS # 40-T006-000E,2016; STRABAG | ZÜBLIN – ABU DHABI | DUBAI
INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, SAFETY – TRAINING
- OSHA regulation for working at height.
- ORDONNANCE 22-342 du 28 juin 1959 portant règlement sur l’installation et l’exploitation des
engins de levage.

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