Fall arrest is designed to catch a person once he or she falls, whereas restraint systems are designed to keep the free fall from occurring in the first place. A restraint is intended to be a leash, reasonably preventing access to a fall-hazard zone. In practice, this is extremely difficult, especially if the system is moved. It is far better to treat it as a fall arrest system meeting fall arrest requirements.
See “Introduction to Fall Protection, 4th Edition” page 209.
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