Safety Harness Inspection Checklists

Importance

Occupational health and safety regulators around the world, such as the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE), and Safe Work Australia, require regular inspection and proper maintenance or storage of fall protection equipment. For this reason, having a safety harness inspection checklist and other fall protection checklists have become essential.

A safety harness inspection checklist is used before commencing daily tasks to ensure the integrity of safety harnesses and reduce the risk of falling. This checklist can also be used to perform regular inspections on safety harnesses and fall protection equipment, ensuring that they are not only working as intended but are also still usable and not in need of any maintenance or repair.

Regular inspections of safety harnesses can also help extend their lifespan, saving money in the long run. Inspections can detect wear and tear, corrosion, and other issues that, if left unattended, would lead to premature harness failure. By catching these problems early, you can ensure that your harnesses remain effective for an extended period.

Laws and Standards for Proper Use and Inspection Practices

Different countries have different legal regulations and standards to follow for the use and inspection of safety harnesses. Here are some of the most well-known standards around the world:

Work at Height Regulations 2005

This regulation from the UK mandates that all safety harnesses exposed to strenuous physical, chemical, and weather elements at work be subject to regular and ad hoc inspections in order to ensure that they are safe for use. This regulation also details other safety standards for other fall protection equipment.

The Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) at Work Regulations 1992

This UK law requires employers to cover the costs of PPE maintenance and repairs for all workers required to use them. This also puts responsibility on employers to ensure that workers are wearing the appropriate PPEs for any work being performed.

OSHA 1910.140 – Personal Fall Protection Systems

This OSHA regulation details the rules and regulations needed for all US states to follow when using, maintaining, and inspecting safety harnesses and other personal fall protection equipment. This also lists down the different gears needed for different tasks.

EN 361:2002

This regulation provides the necessary details and guidelines for the use of full-body harnesses when working at heights. Along with EN 358 and EN 355, EN 361 is one of the major regulations European countries refer to when ensuring safety for workers at heights.

Types of Safety Harness Inspections

In the construction industry and in situations where workers are required to work from high places, falling from heights often results in major injuries and fatalities, which translates to a variety of cons for the worker, the worker’s family, and their employer. A crippling injury can severely affect the quality of life for workers and their families in the long term, and the employer can suffer from significant financial loss, especially if they are found to be non-compliant with safety harness standards.

Here are the different safety harness inspection types and recommended inspection schedules you can use checklists for to ensure that workers only use safe and compliant safety harnesses:

Pre-use Inspection

Pre-use inspections are especially important and should never be skipped since they provide potential safety harness users with the most updated information on the lanyard’s condition. Before approving a harness for use, inspectors should visually inspect the entirety of the lanyard under good lighting conditions while running a hand from one end to another to feel for any cuts, thinning, and other signs of damage that could be dangerous for workers.

Scheduled Inspection

Scheduled inspections are fewer and farther between since they are much more comprehensive and time-consuming compared to pre-use inspections, which typically only take a few minutes to complete. At the very least, scheduled inspections should be done for each safety harness in the inventory every six months. If resources allow, it once every three months would be more optimal, especially if the safety harnesses are being used in rough conditions where damage to the lanyard and other components are more likely.

Interim Inspection

This type of inspection occurs in between detailed inspections and on top of pre-use checks. Interim inspections should be done when safety harness risks are identified before the next detailed inspection, and when working conditions change to involve physical or chemical elements that have the potential to degrade the tensile strength of safety harnesses.

What to Include in a Safety Harness Inspection Checklist

A typical safety harness inspection checklist contains fields for the following:

• Date and time the inspection is being performed
• Inspector name
• Description of why a safety harness is necessary for the task
• Task to be done
• Photos of the equipment and safety harnesses to be used
• Presence and condition of safety harness tags and their written model, date of manufacture, name of manufacturer, limitations, and warnings
• Status of burn marks, damage, cuts, holes, cracks, deformities, and other issues on the harness, if applicable
• Condition of hooks
• Description of the type of lanyard used and its condition
• Condition of lifelines
• Recommendations
• Signature for sign-off and validity

Here is a sample report from a safety harness inspection checklist for reference:

Safety Harness Inspection Checklist Sample Report | SafetyCulture