In Canada Fall Protection is primarily governed by provincial Occupational Health and Safety regulations.
It is an employer’s legal and, some would argue, moral responsibility to implement safeguards for workers, especially when their work puts them at risk of injury or death. Falls are by far the most common workplace accident in Canada. Understanding the standards, guidelines and regulations is only one aspect of providing a safe work environment. Those outside of the fall protection industry can find themselves overwhelmed by CSA/OSHA regulations, ANSI standards, all the terms, and variety of systems. What is the difference between passive and active fall protection? What is the difference between fall restraint and fall arrest? This material is meant to help you gain a better understanding of this and more. Contact us to speak with a Fall Protection expert who will be happy to answer any of your questions.
Federally governed companies are required to adhere to the federal regulations. In the United States the Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulates fall protection. Visit our Legislation page for more details.
Several of the regulations state that employers shall provide systems in compliance with CSA or ANSI standards. Designing systems to these standards and providing equipment certified to meet these standards gives our clients safe and secure systems. We have participated in both the CSA and ANSI technical committees for over 20 years, playing a pivotal role in the development of the CSA Z259.16 standard for the Design of Active Fall Protection Systems, the first standard to provide methods for calculating fall clearances and system forces accurately.
High Engineering continues its contributions to the community through our Principal Engineer, Bill Parsons, who is the current chair of the CSA Technical Committee for the group of fall protection standards. The latest fall protection standard released in Canada is the CSA Z259.18 Counterweighted Guardrail Systems standard. Our intimate knowledge with this standard ensures that we are at the forefront of fall protection technology verifying that all our non-penetrating guardrail systems are designed to meet the requirements of this standard.
Contact our specialist engineers today to get a copy of our compliance letters for various systems.
The following are the current CSA and ANSI standards, available for purchase through the respective online stores.
Canadian Standards Association
CSA Z259.2.2-17 Self-Retracting Devices
CSA Z259.2.3-16 Descent Devices
CSA Z259.2.4-15 Fall Arresters and Vertical Rigid Rails
CSA Z259.2.5-17 Fall Arresters and Vertical Lifelines
CSA Z259.10-18 Fully Body Harnesses
CSA Z259.11-17 Personal Energy Absorbers and Lanyards
CSA Z259.12-16 Connecting Components for Personal Fall Arrest Systems (PFAS)
CSA Z259.13-16 Manufactured Horizontal Lifelines
CSA Z259.14-12 (R2016) Fall Restrict Equipment for Wood Pole Climbing
CSA Z259.15-17 Anchorage Connectors
CSA Z259.16-15 Designs of Active Fall-Protection Systems
CSA Z259.17-16 Selection and Use of Active Fall-Protection Equipment and Systems
CSA Z259.18-19 Counterweighted Guardrail Systems
CSA Z271-10 (R2015) Safety Code for Suspended Platforms
CSA Z91-17 Health and Safety Code for Suspended Equipment Operations
American National Standards Institute
Z359.0–2012 Definitions and Nomenclature Used for Fall Protection and Fall Arrest
Z359.1–2016 The Fall Protection Code
Z359.2–2017 Minimum Requirements for a Comprehensive Managed Fall Protection Program
Z359.3–2017 Safety Requirements for Lanyards and Positioning Lanyards
Z359.4–2013 Safety Requirements for Assisted-Rescue and Self-Rescue Systems, Subsystems, and Components
Z359.6–2009 Specifications and Design Requirements for Active Fall Protection Systems
Z359.7–2011 Qualification and Verification Testing of Fall Protection Products
Z359.11–2014 Safety Requirements for Full Body Harnesses
Z359.12–2009 Connection Components for Personal Fall Arrest Systems
Z359.13–2013 Personal Energy Absorbers and Energy Absorbing Lanyards
Z359.14–2014 Safety Requirements for Self-Retracting Devices for Personal Fall Arrest and Rescue Systems
Z359.15-2014 Safety Requirements for Single Anchor Lifelines and Fall Arresters for Personal Fall Arrest Systems
Z359.16-2016 Safety Requirements for Climbing Ladder Fall Arrest Systems
Z359.18-2017 Safety Requirements for Anchorage Connectors for Active Fall Protection Systems
Need Additional Help?
Whether your project is a self-installation, supervised installation, or you require turnkey services, High Engineering Fall Protection specialists are standing by to assist you. Get started by requesting a quote or contact us at (403) 287 0475.