{"id":3327,"date":"2023-01-04T16:34:24","date_gmt":"2023-01-04T15:34:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gt-engineering.it\/normative-tecniche\/%tipologia_normativa%\/en-14122-4-safety-cage-or-fall-arrester\/"},"modified":"2025-11-15T09:58:38","modified_gmt":"2025-11-15T08:58:38","slug":"en-14122-4-safety-cage-or-fall-arrester","status":"publish","type":"normativa_tecnica","link":"https:\/\/www.gt-engineering.it\/en\/technical-standards\/en-iso-standards\/scale-fisse-14122-4\/en-14122-4-safety-cage-or-fall-arrester\/","title":{"rendered":"Safety cage or fall arrester?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n \n \n \n
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The 2004 edition of EN ISO 14122-4 contained the following text concerning the danger of falling:<\/p>\n

\n

[\u00a74.4.1.3<\/strong>] Note: an appropriate personal protective device against falls can stop the fall better than a cage.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In the Instructions for use, the following text has to be indicated:<\/p>\n

\n

6.2<\/strong> Instructions for using ladders with fall arrest<\/strong>
\nIn the instructions for using, the prescriptions of EN ISO 12100-2 and EN 353-1 must be taken into account.<\/em><\/p>\n

6.3<\/strong> Marking at access and exit points<\/strong>
\nLadders with guided type fall arrester must be permanently marked with the following information:
\n– type and construction year of the guided type fall arrester;
\n– warning: “The use of personal protective equipment is mandatory”.
\nThe marking is required only in those access and exit points that can be reached through the respective ladders.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

These facts, together with the general approach of the law, led France to raise a formal objection under Article 6<\/strong>, paragraph 1, of the Machinery Directive (at that time Directive 98\/37\/EC).
The cause of this objection was that the standard placed emphasis and priority on personal fall-protection devices rather than on the presence of a safety cage and an appropriate maximum ladder height.<\/p>\n

As a result, the standard was removed from the list of harmonized standards for several years. The new edition of EN ISO 14122-4 (latest edition 2016) revised the approach, giving priority to the presence of a protective cage.<\/p>\n

\n

4.2 Choice of a type fall protection device<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

4.2.1<\/strong> Necessity of a fall protection device.<\/em>
\nIn case of an overall falling height equal or higher than 3000 mm, the ladder shall be fitted with a fall protection device.<\/em><\/p>\n

4.2.2<\/strong> Types of protection device.<\/em>
\nThe main alternatives for protection of the users of fixed ladders against falling from height are the following:<\/em>
\na) Safety Cage<\/strong><\/em>
\nThe cage is a means wich is always present and the actual level of safety is independent of the operator’s actions, therefore it is the preffered choice.<\/em>
\nb) Guided type fall arrester on rigid anchorage (fall arrester)<\/strong><\/em>
\nA\u00a0 fall arrester in only effective if the user chooses to use it. If a harness with an incompatible sliding system is used with a guided type fall arrester, there will be a risk of falling.<\/em><\/p>\n

A combination of both safety cage and fall arrester shall not be applied.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The part of the standard that gives requirements for the Instructions for use was also modified as follows:<\/p>\n

\n

7.1.2 \u00a0Ladder systems with fall arrester\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The \u00a0relevant provisions \u00a0of ISO \u00a012100\u00a0 as \u00a0well \u00a0as \u00a0of EN \u00a0353\u00b71 \u00a0shall \u00a0be \u00a0presented \u00a0in \u00a0the \u00a0instruction handbook \u00a0supplied with the machine.<\/em>
\nThe following minimum information shall be provided \u00a0when the ladder system includes a \u00a0fall arrester:<\/em>
\n– advice that a ladder with fall arrester shall be used \u00a0only by well-trained users;<\/em>
\n– advice on \u00a0the risk of falling while using an \u00a0incompatible self-locking guided \u00a0type \u00a0fall arrester and\u00a0incompatible \u00a0lanyard with the rigid anchor line;<\/em>
\n– advice on how to use the harness, as provided \u00a0by the manufacturer, \u00a0with the guide lock;<\/em>
\n– advice on how to instruct the authorized \u00a0person(s) in the safe operation of ladders with fall arrester;<\/em>
\n–\u00a0advice on how movable parts shall be locked in the intended \u00a0positions when in use and in the stored position.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The colleagues writing the standard are not against Fall Arresters<\/strong>. There are a few considerations to be made: a\u00a0fall arreste<\/strong>r is only effective if the user actually chooses to use it. If a harness with an incompatible sliding system is used together with a guided-type fall arrester, there is a risk of falling. Investigations show that human-factor issues lead to reluctance to use fall arresters at heights up to about six metres. A fall arrester is only effective above a certain minimum height and can arrest a fall more reliably than a safety cage, depending on the potential fall distance.<\/p>\n

ISO 14122-4 is now (November 2025) under revision, but the conclusion will not change: a Ladder, provided with a Safety Cage in conformity with EN ISO 14122-4, does not require a fall arrester<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/div> <\/div>\n \n \n

<\/div>\n \n\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The 2004 edition of EN ISO 14122-4 contained the following text concerning the danger of falling:<\/p>\n

[§4.4.1.3] Note: an appropriate personal protective dev…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40111,"parent":3268,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"normative-tecniche":[57],"class_list":["post-3327","normativa_tecnica","type-normativa_tecnica","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tipologia_normativa-en-iso-standards"],"acf":{"sottotitolo":"","allegati":null},"yoast_head":"\nInsight of GT Engineering | EN ISO - Safety Cage or Fall Arrester?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The 2004 edition of EN ISO 14122-4 contained the following text concerning the danger of falling: [\u00a74.4.1.3] Note: an appropriate personal protective dev...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gt-engineering.it\/en\/technical-standards\/en-iso-standards\/scale-fisse-14122-4\/en-14122-4-safety-cage-or-fall-arrester\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Safety cage or fall arrester?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The 2004 edition of EN ISO 14122-4 contained the following text concerning the danger of falling: [\u00a74.4.1.3] Note: an appropriate personal protective dev...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.gt-engineering.it\/en\/technical-standards\/en-iso-standards\/scale-fisse-14122-4\/en-14122-4-safety-cage-or-fall-arrester\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gt-Engineering\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-15T08:58:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.gt-engineering.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Gabbia-o-Anticaduta.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"731\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"732\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Safety cage or fall arrester?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"The 2004 edition of EN ISO 14122-4 contained the following text concerning the danger of falling: [\u00a74.4.1.3] Note: an appropriate personal protective dev...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gt-engineering.it\/en\/technical-standards\/en-iso-standards\/scale-fisse-14122-4\/en-14122-4-safety-cage-or-fall-arrester\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.gt-engineering.it\/en\/technical-standards\/en-iso-standards\/scale-fisse-14122-4\/en-14122-4-safety-cage-or-fall-arrester\/\",\"name\":\"Insight of GT Engineering | EN ISO - 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