Bulletin Issued by WorkSafeBC on Prusik Slings
Some commercially available rope grabs are manufactured with "anti-panic" features that lock onto the lifeline even when they are grasped. A Prusik sling, however, does not have this feature, so it potentially will allow a worker to fall.
WorkSafeBC has issued a bulletin to warn workers about the hazards of using Prusik slings as rope grabs. Some workers use them that way as part of their personal fall protection system, but the bulletin notes that a Prusik sling does not protect workers who might instinctively grasp their system's rope grabs during falls.
Some commercially available rope grabs are manufactured with "anti-panic" features that lock onto the lifeline even when they are grasped. A Prusik sling, however, does not have this feature, so it potentially will allow a worker to fall.
WorkSafeBC developed the bulletin to explain how these slings work and explain why it's safer in most cases for workers to use rope grabs that meet CSA or ANSI standards and include an anti-panic feature.