One of our members wanted to share their learnings after a harness inspection exercise. After passing inspection from both the in-house inspector and an external inspector a fault with a harness was not discovered.
Plastic excess webbing retaining loops were later found to be causing unsafe wear to the webbing (see photo). This wear was underneath the loop and not visible unless the loop was shifted. This serves as practical reminder that a thorough inspection of every inch of the webbing is necessary, including loosening and shifting any buckles or loops in the process.
As you should all be aware as per the AS/NZS 1891.1:2007 standard safety harnesses and related equipment covered under the 1891 standard should be inspected and recorded before first use (from new) and at least once, six monthly there after or after an incident.
This inspection should be completed by a competent height safety equipment inspector.
What should be looked for:
- Date of Manufacture / destroy-by-date
- Standards (AS/NZS1891.1 2007
- Current inspection period (6months)
- Webbing
- Stitching
- Hardware
Noting that all height safety equipment should be inspected by the user before use:
Daily users must check the viability of:
- Attachment points
- Shoulder straps
- Front buckle
- Leg straps
- Shock absorber and inspection tags
- Fall arrest attachments points
- Currency of inspection records (tags, logs etc)
Any faults identified should be recorded, identify if serviceable and complete, or if un-serviceable removed from service and destroyed beyond use.
