MAN ANCHOR – a better understanding the role of the Man Anchor

A Man Anchor is a piece of equipment designed for use on roofs and those applications at height where there are no permanent guardrails, or other anchor devices, in order to allow safe freedom of movement around the roof space,

The Man Anchor is often used in such applications as the maintenance of flat roofs or plant & equipment installed at roof level including air conditioning units, lightning conductors and telecommunications equipment.

This allows the worker to remain safe while working at height where there is the possibility of falling.

The Man Anchor offers a solution to the problem where temporary access is required and where it is both too costly and time consuming to install a fixed permanent system for those jobs requiring only occasional roof and work at height access.


Man Anchors are mobile and easy to use

Man Anchor systems have modular components designed for ease of assembly and disassembly on site and for transporting the system to site. This makes the Man Anchor ideal where mobility is important. They are simple to assemble requiring no drilling, special anchorage or penetration of the roof membrane. The weights or usually dead weights, either metal or water filled. The weights that come into contact with the roof are usualy fitted with protective anti-slip rubber pads or cups.


Fall Restraint vs Fall Arrest

Fall restraint systems prevent a fall from happening and a Man Anchor should, as far as is reasonably practical, only be used as a fall restraint system as opposed to fall arrest. When utilised as a restraint system, a fixed length lanyard should be used in order to ensure the operative is unable to reach the leading(fall)edge. In this case the worker is tied off to a lanyard that keeps them back a distance of 2.5 meters from the roof edge.


When used to provide fall arrest

Fall arrest is where the worker is able to reach the fall area and is therefore is in a position of grave danger should they fall. In this instance the Man Anchor is designed to be used with an approved shock asorbing lanyard or inertia reel and full body harness to provide safe access at all times.

The Mobile Man Anchor should only be used on buildings over 4m high when used as a fall arrest system. This is due to the clearance that is required for the deployment of the lanyard shock absorbing element and the height of the user. If the Mobile Man Anchor is used on buildings below 4m it must be used in conjunction with a fixed length lanyard and used as a restraint system as opposed to fall arrest.

The length of the shock absorbing lanyard or inertia reel etc, should not generally exceed the height of the building in order to avoid the possibility of the pendulum effect, that is where the length of the lanyard is greater than the fall distance. To avoid this, the Man Anchor should be placed perpendicular to the roof edge where the operative is likely to be working.


Man Anchor Testing

The Mobile Man Anchor is required to be third party tested by a qualified laboratory to BS EN 795: Protection against falls from a height - Anchor devices.


General Considerations when using a Man Anchor

The unit should not be placed on any surfaces affected by ice, grease or similar slippery conditions which may impair the performance of the unit.

The Mobile Man Anchor can be used on any flat roof or on industrial steel clad pitched roofs up to 15 degrees pitch providing the Mobile Man Anchor is positioned on the opposite pitch to where the operative intends working. When placed on the roof slope the Mobile Man Anchor must be at least 2.5m from the ridge.

In all cases one must ensure that the roof structure is capable of taking the load of the man anchor (260kg - 400kg dependant on the system) combined with the weight of the operative plus any additional equipment required.

Never attach more than one person to the mobile man anchor at any one time unless allowed by the manufacturer.