Safety harness

A safety harness is a form of protective equipment designed to protect a person, animal, or object from injury or damage. The harness is an attachment between a stationary and non-stationary object and is usually fabricated from rope, cable or webbing and locking hardware.[1] Some safety harnesses are used in combination with a shock absorber, which is used to regulate deceleration when the end of the rope is reached. One example would be bungee jumping.

In North America, safety harness for protection against falls from heights in industrial and construction activities are covered by design performance standards issued by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) in the United States and by CSA Group (formerly known as the Canadian Standards Association) in Canada. Specifically, the standards issued are ANSI Z359.1[2] and CSA Z259.10[3]. These standards are updated approximately every four to five years so it is important to ensure the latest version is referenced.

Classifications

Fall Protection Systems

Listed below are different types of fall safety equipment and their recommended usage.[4]

Class 1 Body belts (single or double D-ring) are designed to restrain a person in a hazardous work position to prevent fall or to arrest a fall completely within 3 foot of movement (OSHA). Amends must be made to keep the line rigid at all times. A harness should also be used.

Class 2 Chest harnesses are used when there are only limited fall hazards (no vertical free fall hazard), or for retrieving persons such as removal of persons from a tank or a bin.

Class 3 Full body harnesses are designed to arrest the most severe free falls.

Class 4 Suspension belts are independent work supports used to suspend a worker, such as boatswain's chairs or raising or lowering harnesses.[5]

Types

Safety harness types include:

Uses

Occupations that may involve the use of safety harnesses include:

See also
  • Jackstay – Substantial line between two points used to guide or support.
  • Fall arrest – Equipment which safely stops a person already falling
  • Lifeline (diving) – A rope connecting the diver to an attendant, usually at the surface
  • Climbing harness

References
  1. Encyclopedia.com
  2. "ANSI / ASSP Z359 Fall Protection and Fall Restraint Standards". assp.org. American Society of Safety Professionals. Archived from the original on May 27, 2020. Retrieved June 4, 2020. Purchase Our Z359 Standards
  3. "CAN/CSA-Z259.10-12 (R2016) - Standards Council of Canada - Conseil canadien des normes". scc.ca. Standards Council of Canada. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  4. "fall protection". Friday, 4 January 2019
  5. "Fall Protection Information". Archived from the original on 2016-08-04. Retrieved 2017-03-17.

Jones & Bartlett. Fire Fighter Skills. 2nd ed. Boston, Toronto, London, Singapore: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 2009. pp243–244. Print.


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