Davit Arm Systems

A davit arm system is the complete assembly of the arm, its base or socket, and the anchorage, engineered as one load path into the structure. The arm holds an anchorage point out and above the work area, most often at a building edge, and a portable arm can be moved between fixed base sockets so one arm serves several locations. Tritech engineers the davit, its base, and the anchorage together so every component carries the loads a fall or suspension would impose.

A davit arm positions the worker’s tie-off point out and above the work area so suspension and overhead fall arrest work correctly. At a building edge it supports facade access, window washing, and confined-space rescue, where the worker needs an overhead connection rather than a tie-off at deck level. The arm can pivot or be removed from its base between jobs, so the roof stays clear when the system is not in use.

A davit for fall protection is a davit arm whose overhead anchorage serves a worker’s personal fall arrest, restraint, or rescue connection, typically at a building edge or over a confined-space entry. As an anchorage, it must support 5,000 pounds per employee attached or be designed, installed, and used under the supervision of a qualified person as part of a complete personal fall arrest system that maintains a safety factor of at least two (29 CFR 1910.140(c)(13) general industry; 29 CFR 1926.502(d)(15) construction). The base and the structure it mounts to are part of that load path and get engineered along with the arm.

A PE-stamped drawing is an engineering drawing signed and sealed by a licensed Professional Engineer, certifying that the design meets the governing standards and the loads at the specific site; OSHA’s qualified-person provisions (for example, 29 CFR 1926.502(d)) are commonly satisfied by PE-engineered designs. For a davit arm system the stamp covers the arm, the base, and the structural connection as one design, because the arm is only as strong as the socket and the structure it loads.