W. David Lough is the general manager of Gravitec Systems, Inc., (www.gravitec.com), a Bainbridge Island, WA-based consulting company that specializes in fall protection engineering, training and equipment. He has been designing, consulting and training on fall protection systems for more than 14 years and is on the ANSI Z359 Fall Protection Code Standards Committee. Lough has also aided in writing Canadian Standards Association (CSA) documents and has written a number of other articles on fall protection.
Because a number of safety standards are available for fall protection equipment manufacture and use, it can be difficult to determine which standard should be followed, depending on the work being performed and the type of structure involved.