# Acceptable Tie-Off / Anchor Points



## zburger (Aug 30, 2012)

Hey Guys, 
have you ever had any of your workers tie off to the base of a roof vent or skylight? Not onto the skylight itself, but rather the base of it.
I'm wondering what an inspector might say if he came up and saw the workers tied off to skylights or roof-vent bases (curbs) instead of using anchor plates or a raptor system.

Is the main point to have a specific amount of weight resistance given a fall were to occur? Regardless of what is used to hold you?

I appreciate all of your input on my posts, look forward to hearing what you all have to say. Thanks


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## Grumpy (Oct 29, 2008)

They tied the rope around the curb? I won't admit to ever having done that myself, because OSHA might be watching, but that should tell you I don't "think" it's right. It is my assumption that you need to have a mounted anchor point. 

Best bet is to call your local OSHA office and ask. I've never had luck emailing but they are usually pretty good about calling back. And if something has been against their "laws" they have been pretty good about citing exact paragraph numbers so I could read up and do further research.


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## shazapple (Dec 3, 2010)

This may not apply to your area, and is for your information only. 

Travel restraint anchor points on a flat roof need to be capable of withstanding 'twice the likely load'.
Fall arrest anchor points on a flat roof need to be capable of withstanding 5000lb or four times the maximum load of the fall arrest system. 

Basically you'd have to prove that it meets the criteria, so you might as well use an approved anchor point, or other methods. Our code prefers the use of guardrails and travel restraint over fall arrest, when possible.


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## Grumpy (Oct 29, 2008)

All I can say is Gosh, I love parapet walls.


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## Safety_Guy (Dec 15, 2011)

What shazapple said is correct. So unless you are an engineer and by calculation can prove that the skylight or a vent is able to support 5000 lbs of dead weight, I would not even attempt it. Personal Fall Arrest Systems will only work if all components that make up the system are right and that means having the right anchor attachement point.


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## SydneyRoofGutter (Oct 16, 2012)

This is in reply to the main topic, and not to the gibberish post before me. But in regards to tying off to anchor points:

One of the main features of anchor points is that they have an energy absorbing feature, that reduces the trauma when you are "caught", after you fall. Additionally, anchor points need to be certified annually to ensure that they are still in good working order.

So if a safety inspector came onto site and saw it, I would say you would be in all sorts of trouble. Here is a good page that explains more about the benefits and real world applications of anchor points - www.sydneyanchorpoints.com.au

Although if you can start using skylights as anchor points, then there may be a market opening up for skylight anchor point certification


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