inspecting fall arresting equipment made from webbing or rope

7/18/2019 Inspecting Fall Arresting Equipment Made From Webbing or Rope

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Inspecting fallInspecting fallarrest equipmentarrest equipment

made from made from

WEBBING or ROPE



This leaflet gives generic advice on inspection regimes forenergy-absorbing lanyards made from webbing where it is usedto provide protection against falls from a height.However, many of the principles can also be applied to non-energy-absorbing lanyards and safety harnesses used for thesame purpose. They can also be applied to similar equipment

made from rope. The leaflet does notdoes not cover other equipmentsuch as anchor points. Employers should consult themanufacturer and/or supplier of the equipment for any product-specific inspection requirements.

IntroductionIntroduction

An energy-absorbing lanyard is a line for connecting a full body harness to an anchorage point with an inbuilt devicethat reduces the impact of a fall.



There is a wide range of possible causes of degradationof synthetic fibres used in webbing and rope lanyards(including abuse ( !"#$%&' )! &*")' +)%$ &! ,general wear and tear, edge/surface damage, ultravioletlight, dirt, grit ("!*) , chemicals . ecent research involving synthetic fiber webbing lanyards

has confirmed a number of the potential causes of degradation.t also highlighted that there is no well-defined boundary (egusable life separating those lanyards that are safe and thosethat are not (eg a 0 mm cut in the edge of a lanyard can resultin a 1 to 234 loss of strength depending on the ma5e oflanyard being used . t is therefore essential that if lanyards areto be maintained to provide the required level of protection theyare sub6ect to an effective inspection regime.



Legal requirements andstandards

The 7ersonal 7rotective Equipment egulations 0889 requireemployers to maintain fall arrest equipment in good repair,including appropriate replacement. n addition, the 7rovision and :seof ;or5 Equipment egulations 088< require that equipment which ise=posed to conditions causing significant deterioration should beinspected at suitable intervals and each time circumstances whichmight 6eopardi>e (")?%!#@$A )"$* )*A& safety have occurred.

British Ctandard BC ED F1G 088 Personal protective equipmentagainst falls from a height. General requirements for instructions foruse and for marking gives general requirements for periodicinspection, instructions for use and mar5ing of 77E against falls

from a height. To counter the causes of degradation listed in thentroduction, the British Ctandard states that components should bee=amined at least twelve-monthlyI. This is sometimes ta5en to beannuallyI, although manufacturers of te=tile products usuallyrecommend inspection more frequently than this.



The inspection regime recommended in this leaflet has been discussedwith representatives of manufacturers, suppliers, installers and ma6or

users via the British Ctandards nstitution Technical Jommittee 7H/1(industrial safety belts and harnesses and the 7ersonal CafetyKanufacturers Lssociation Height and Lccess Jommittee. Employersshould establish a regime for the inspection of lanyards that is drawn upby a competent person.

The regime should includeG

Inspection RegimeInspection Regime

■ the lanyards to be inspected (including their unique identification MN the frequency and type of inspection (pre-use chec5s, detailedinspection and, where appropriate, interim inspection M

N designated competent persons to carry out the inspectionsMN action to be ta5en on finding defective lanyardsMN means of recording the inspectionsMN training of usersMN means of monitoring the inspection regime to verify inspections arecarried out accordingly.



t is essential that the person carrying out any inspection is sufficientlyindependent and impartial (O!*"#&*A#$* PQ to allow them to ma5eob6ective decisions, and has appropriate and genuine (&*A& PQ

authority to discard defective lanyards. This does not mean thatcompetent persons must necessarily be employed from an e=ternalcompany, although many manufacturers and/or suppliers offer inspectionservices and training in the inspection of their products. Employers may wish to provide additional lanyards to use asreplacements in the event that defective lanyards have to be ta5en out ofuse. Ranyards that are on-hire may need special consideration, to ensurethat they are sub6ect to detailed inspections (and interim inspections ifappropriate within the period specified in the regime. Hirers should beinformed of any use or damage that may affect the safety of theequipment (eg use with chemicals .



Ranyards should be sub6ect toG

N pre-use chec5sMN detailed inspectionsM andN (as appropriate interim inspectionsMThese should be carried out by competent persons, to identify defects ordamage that may affect safety.

Pre-use checks

These chec5s are essential and should be carried out each time, beforethe lanyard is used.7re-use chec5s should be tactile ()*S+$A!' PQ and visual. The wholelanyard should be sub6ect to the chec5, by passing it slowly through thehands (e.g. to detect small cuts of 0 mm in the edges, softening orhardening of fibers, ingress (?)*A " of contaminants . L visual chec5should be underta5en in good light and will normally ta5e a few minutes.

Scope of the inspectionregime



Detailed inspections

These more formal, in-depth inspections should be carried out periodically at minimum intervals specified in the employer’sinspection regime. It is recommended that there is a detailedinspection at least every six months. or fre!uently used lanyards it

is suggested that this is increased to at least every three months, particularly when the e!uipment is used in arduous "#$%&'()*environments "e.g. demolition "+ + /&01&*, steel erection,scaffolding, steel s2eletal masts3towers with edges and protrusions*.4etailed inspections should be recorded.



Interim inspections

These are also in-depth inspections and may be appropriate in additionto pre-use chec5s and detailed inspections. nterim inspections may beneeded between detailed inspections because the employerIs ris5assessment has identified a ris5 that could result in significantdeterioration, affecting the safety of the lanyard before the ne=t detailedinspection is due. The need for and frequency of interim inspections willdepend on use. E=amples of situations where they may be appropriate

includeG

N ris5s from transient (* )#)A!U PQ arduous wor5ing environmentsinvolving paints, chemicals or grit blasting operationsM or N acidic or al5aline (V!')U )Q environments if the type of fabric the

lanyard is made from cannot be determined (some fabrics offer lowresistance to acids or al5alis .

The results of interim inspections should be recorded.



Examples of defects and damage

The following defects and damage have the potential to result in the degradation and/orwea5ening of the lanyardGN cuts of 0 mm or more at the edges of webbing lanyards (e.g. where the lanyard may have been

cho5e-hitched around steelwor5 MN surface abrasion across the face of the webbing and at the webbing loops, particularly iflocali>edMN abrasion at the edges, particularly if locali>edMN damage to stitching (e.g. cuts or abrasion MN a 5not in the lanyard, other than those intended by the manufacturerMN chemical attac5 which can result in local wea5ening and softening - often indicated by fla5ing()A*'$&%$ &! of the surface. There may also be a change to the colour of the fibresMN heat or friction damage indicated by fibres with a gla>ed appearance which may feel harderthan surrounding fibresMN :W-degradation which is difficult to identify, particularly visually, but there may be some loss ofcolour (if dyed and a powdery surfaceMN partially deployed energy absorber (e.g. short pull-out of tear webbing M

N contamination (e.g. with dirt, grit, sand etc which may result in internal or e=ternal abrasionMN damaged or deformed fittings (e.g. 5arabiners, screwlin5 connectors, scaffold hoo5s MN damage to the sheath (X A'S# and core of a 5ernmantel rope (eg ruc5ing (* '$? & of thecore detected during tactile inspection MN internal damage to a cable-laid rope.



Ranyards should be withdrawn from use and passed to a competent person for adetailed inspection to decide whether they should continue to be used, destroyed or

returned to the manufacturer for testing to enable a product performance history tobe determined, ifGN there is no evidence that a lanyard has been inspected by a competent personwithin the last si= monthsMN identification is not evident (lanyards should be indelibly and permanently mar5edin accordance with BC ED F1G 088 . They should be uniquely identifiable so that

they can be easily associated with their respective inspection documentation MN a lanyard is thought to be defective, or if there is any doubt about its safety after apre-use chec5 or interim inspection.A lanyard that has been used to arrest a fall should never be reusedt should be withdrawn from service immediately and destroyed or returned to themanufacturer.

!emember" #hen checking or inspecting lanyards think#E$$I%& - S'I'()I%& - )A!*#A!E

#ithdra+ing lanyards from use#ithdra+ing lanyards from use



The following photographs show lanyards that have beenwithdrawn because of damage suffered during use .

Examples of lanyards thatExamples of lanyards thathave been +ithdra+nhave been +ithdra+n

*amaged +ebbingand protector toenergy absorber




Abrasion damage adjacent toenergy absorber: displaced protective sleeve over energy

absorber

Wear at end of absorber loop

at connection



Surface fibers damaged by

abrasion

Two similar products withunknown history - the topwebbing is heavily soiled




Heavy paint contamination towebbing

Damaged gate on karabiner




Missing label: damage to protective sleeveover energy absorber

no cuts 1 mm cut

2 mm cut 4 mm cut

hotos from research onnew webbing


inspecting fall arresting equipment made from webbing or rope

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