Working at Heights – Below the Permanents

When work at heights below the permanents cannot be accomplished by using a ladder, aerial lift, or scaffolding, (for instance, when hanging greenbeds or walking on the top of set walls), you must use fall arrest equipment. This equipment includes: a full body harness with a self-retracting lanyard, a vertical lifeline with rope grab, and, when multiple vertical lifelines are used, a double D-ring extender.

Prior to using any fall protection equipment, Southern CA IATSE employees are required to have passed the CSATF Safety Pass Course D – Fall Protection.

• Inspect all fall protection equipment prior to use.
• Locate an anchorage point for the vertical lifeline. Single-user anchorage points are
• located on the soundstage trusses and have been identified with a yellow tag.
• Select an anchorage point above you and as close as possible to where you are working to avoid or limit a swing fall.
• Connect the vertical lifeline to the anchorage point with the double-locking snap hook. Attach the manual rope grab to the vertical lifeline. Make sure that the arrow on the rope grab is pointing up toward the anchorage point.
• Attach the self-retracting lanyard (SRL) to the rope grab with a self-locking carabiner.
• Connect the tag line to the double-locking snap hook on the SRL.
• Position the rope grab, SRL and tag line on the lifeline so that the final height of the SRL is 6 feet above your intended work height.
• Protect the lifeline against rough edges by using a rope protector or by padding sharp corners.
• If you need to move a longer distance horizontally across the set, you can rig two or more vertical lifeline systems. This will reduce the swing fall potential. (Use separate anchor points for multiple line systems.)
• From the ground or greenbed, pull the tag line and attach the double-locking snap hook from the SRL to the “D” ring (or double “D” extender when using multiple vertical lifelines) located on the back of your harness.
• When using multiple lifelines, never remove one lifeline until you are safely attached to the second lifeline, or until you are back on the ground or greenbed.