A ____ is a design of straps which may be secured about the employee in a manner to distribute the fall arrest forces of over at least the thighs, pelvis, waist, chest and shoulders with means for attaching it to other components of a personal fall arrest system.

• A. Body harness
• B. Safety belt
• C. Lanyard
• D. Shoulder strap

Answer: (A)

The main idea is that fall protection depends on how the body is supported during a arrest. The design described—straps that go around the thighs, pelvis, waist, chest, and shoulders and provide an attachment point to other fall arrest components—defines a full-body harness. This setup distributes the arrest forces across multiple parts of the body, which helps protect the spine and internal organs by avoiding a single concentrated load. It also provides the proper attachment point for connectors like lanyards or deceleration devices.

A safety belt, by contrast, wraps only around the waist and would concentrate the force there, increasing the risk of injury to the abdomen and spine. A lanyard is just a connector that links you to an anchor or other equipment; it isn’t a full harness and doesn’t distribute the load by itself. A shoulder strap alone wouldn’t secure the body or distribute the forces properly in a fall. This is why the full-body harness is the correct choice.