A safety harness is an essential element for employees working at height constantly with a high risk of falling due to slips or trips that may lead to a major injury or even death. Although with the evolvement of safety equipment and enactment of OSHA regulation, the rate of workplace falls has declined a lot, but it is still there. One of the primary reasons for this lies in the failure of proper inspection of a safety harness which is mandated to be performed in regular intervals by safety officials, says Jason Wible Frenchcreek. To avoid a life-threatening accident or death from happening keep reading this blog in which he has focused on proper inspection procedures of safety harnesses.
What Is A Safety Harness?
Precisely, a safety harness is an innovative tool comprising straps with connectors and other elements to be worn by an individual at risk of a possible fall. The safety harness is required to get attached to any stationary and strong object which has the strength to support the weight of a person in the event they get tripped or slipped by losing their balance at height. Moreover, the harness should be robust enough to sustain the added force generated during the fall without making any harm to the wearer. The safety harness is also one of the vital components of the fall arrest system.
Components Of Fall Arrest System
A fall arrest system contains three important parts:
- Anchor point
- Lanyard
- Safety harness
What Is The Role Of A Lanyard?
Noteworthy, at the time of securing or locking a safety harness to any stationary substance for support, a strap is used that connects the two is known as a lanyard. Precisely, the objective of the lanyard is to seize the weight of the individual outfitted with the safety harness and furthermore to withstand the force and jerking action of the falling body that is generated automatically due to the fall.
Safety Harness Components And How To Inspect Them?
Typically, a safety harness comprises certain straps that need to fit around the shoulders, legs, and chest area of the wearer. The straps should hold the dorsal D ring while it may consist of other two D rings on the right and left straps. To reduce the impact of the falling body each strap should have an adjustable buckle. Next, the dorsal D ring is connected to the lanyard using a strong snap hook. In addition, the lanyard will include a shock absorber that will reduce the force of the impact of the fall.
Straps/ Ropes: According to Jason Wible Frenchcreek, while the harness is generally made of straps, most harnesses are prepared with webbing straps. Depending on the type of work lanyards can be made of either webbing material or heavy-duty rope. They should be checked for cutting, wear and tear, loose stitching, damage by UV rays, etc.
Buckle: Buckles are used to connect the straps. They are made of rigid metal or plastic. They should be checked to ensure if there is any wear and tear.
D Rings: D rings are used to connect the lanyard to the harness. There can be one or more D rings to fasten different accessories and tools. They should be checked to ensure their shape is not being distorted and that they have no visible cracks, rust, or sharp edges.
Loops: Loops are used to grab excess straps and make sure the safety harness is comfy and streamlined. The loops are made of plastic and that requires to be checked for breakages or distortion.
Principally, the safety harness equipment is intended to avoid lethal injury and is often granted as a vital lifeline when it comes to an accidental fall. However, each component of them must be inspected with due diligence.