Is it Time to Replace Your Safety Harness?
Harnesses are a major part of both business and recreational life. If you work at-height in either the industrial sector or the entertainment industry, a safety harness is a crucial part of your gear kit. Since harnesses are required to ensure safety in extreme situations, it is necessary to make sure that your harness meets safety standards and is right for your specific needs.
We only carry quality safety harnesses sure to meet any need, ranging from riggers to material handling specialists and beyond.
Safety and Fall Arrest Harnesses
A full-body harness holds the entire body and is designed to catch all the weight and disperse it equally, resulting in a major decrease in pressure and impact on the body. We recommend this type of safety harness for extreme heights where a fall could result in catastrophic consequences. The full body harness is also perfect for jobs and activities that require full movement at dangerous heights.
Make sure that your harness is well-suited to your needs. For example, not all harnesses are rated for fall arrest. For example, this Checkmate Two Point Rescue Harness is specifically designed for an individual to be lowered and raised for rescue work. For a fall arrest harness, you would need something like this full body harness from FA2 or the Petzl Avao-Bod Fast Harness, for example. If you are not sure how to choose the right harness for working at height, head over to the ''Safety Harness and Lanyard'' blog
Finding the correct size is also of great importance to the functionality of the harness. If the size is not correct, the functioning of the safety harnesses will not work as intended and can result in devastating injury.
When should you replace a harness?
You should replace the harness when one of three things happen.
- The harness is old and weathered.
- The hardware of the harness is compromised.
- The safety harness has taken an extreme fall while in use.
One way to tell if the harness is too old or weathered too greatly is if it has crust growing on it or the fabric and the stitching is starting to wear out. If any of these things happen to your fall protection harness, you should replace it immediately.
Some ways to tell if the harness’s hardware is too thrashed is if any metal components are broken and do not work as intended. Also, if the harness’s hardware has sharp abrasions or is chipped, it is time to replace it. You can usually figure this out by inspecting all hardware in a routine safety harness inspection. If it has received a major fall while in use, you also have to replace it. OSHA and ANSI state that in the case of a fall the vest must be immediately removed from service.
Safety Harness Inspection Checklist
To further help our customers, we at MTN have included a safety harness inspection checklist to help you identify if the harness is safe for use. The safety checklist is comprised of safety harness hardware, webbing, stitching, and labels checklist with descriptions of what to look for when replacing the harness in those categories. This makes it simple and easy to have a safer harness.
Where to replace your harness
When it comes time to replace your harness, we’ve got you covered. At MTN Shop, we carry reliable safety harnesses to encompass all budgets and work needs.
Not sure which harness is right for you? Feel free to start a chat with us and one of our experts will guide you through all of our product offerings.
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