Harness Inspection 101
Whether you are in telecom, wind, solar, or tree care, construction, or any other at-height industry, the harness you wear is one of the most important pieces of equipment in your arsenal. Your harness is the apex of all your equipment. It is where everything converges, and where the perfect harmony of fall protection meets to ensure your safety on the job site. This week, our Gear Experts® are going to discuss how to properly inspect a harness.
Harness Inspection
There’s an old saying that states that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. That saying goes far beyond chains – and in the context of this blog post, it is also true for fall protection. As we said in the opening of this post, your harness is an integral part of your fall protection setup. But no harness will last forever, and sometimes unforeseen events can cause the harness to need to be replaced. That’s where harness inspection comes in. Harness inspection is a pretty simple concept – it is the act of reviewing your harness before climbing to ensure that the harness will remain functioning both while you climb and in the event of a fall. The actual act of inspecting the harness can have some mild variance depending on the construction of the harness. The main things to consider are what type of buckle system (pass through, tongue buckle, or quick connect) the harness has and whether it has a waist belt or not. Before you start your inspection, we highly recommend having a harness inspection form. A harness inspection form will help you keep records of when you inspected the harness as well as information like the serial number, date of first use, who inspected it, and any other notes about the inspection. We have a free downloadable harness inspection for in our Knowledge Base. Click here for your free copy of the form.
What to Inspect
Once you start the inspection, what exactly should you inspect?
Labels & Markings
The first thing to inspect is the labels and markings. Are all the labels intact? Do you have all the appropriate ANSI, OSHA, & CSA markings required? What is the date of first use? Has an impact indicator (sign of deployment) been triggered?Hardware
Next, we want to start looking at the harness hardware. What condition are the shoulder adjustment buckles in? What about the leg and waist buckles? What about the other hardware the harness features? The D-rings should be closely inspected as well (the dorsal, side, shoulder, and/or sternal). Lastly, is any of the hardware corroded, pitting, or nicked?Webbing & Stitching
The final piece of the puzzle is to inspect the webbing and stitching. What condition are the shoulder, chest, leg, and back straps in? Does the harness have any cuts, burns, or holes? Is there any paint contamination? What about excessive wear, heat corrosion, or UV damage? How is the stitching and is it affected by any of the above checks?Retiring a Harness
The purpose of inspecting a harness is to make sure that the harness can handle the job it was meant to do. If the harness fails inspection that means it is not in compliance with ANSI requirements and should be retired and replaced immediately. If you’ve got questions about harness inspection, or if your harness has failed inspection and you’re looking for something new, click here to contact one of our Gear Experts®. → Click here to download your free harness inspection form from our Knowledge Base → Click here to access our full selection of inspection forms → Click here to see our full selection of fall protection harnesses **The content of this blog is not intended to replace proper, in-depth training. Manufacturer’s instructions must also be followed and reviewed before any Fall Protection Equipment is used.
Fall Protection Harnesses: The Playlist
Gear Up with Gear Experts: The Podcast
We're also proud to announce Gear Up with Gear Experts® - A podcast dedicated to at-height, industry, and construction. Gear Up with Gear Experts® is available via your podcast listening platform of choice and in each episode, the hosts (Alex Giddings & John Medina) bring in a gear expert or industry leader to talk about gear, gear safety, tips, and tricks. To find out more about the show and sign up for alerts, head on over to gearexperts.com.
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