Prepared To Meet Your Legal Needs

The revised full-body harness standard in Pennsylvania

On Behalf of | May 26, 2022 | Workplace Safety |

In Pennsylvania, the law always protects workers in all kinds of fields with the aim of minimizing cases of injuries or death. As such, for people whose work requires climbing, there is a recently revised rule for full-body harness standards with which both employers and employees must comply. Here’s what you need to know about this revised standard.

Full-body harness ANSI/ASSP Z359.11-2021

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the Association for Challenge Course Technology (ACCT) recently released a revised edition of the Full-Body Harness Standard, ANSI/ASSP Z359.11-2021. The revision was undertaken to provide an update in light of new developments and technologies in fall protection, as well as to ensure that the new quality level is consistent with other existing standards.

Key changes in the standard

The new full-body harness standards covered by the ANSI/ASSP Z359.11-2021 are for workers with an average weight of 130 to 310 pounds (or 59 to 140 kg). You can size a harness to fit perfectly, enabling ease of work and maximum safety. This is crucial for the harness to effectively protect the user in the event of a fall.

Another key change is the addition of requirements related to the testing and labeling of full-body harnesses. These requirements are necessary to ensure that users can identify an adequately tested and rated harness and understand the limitations of use for that particular harness.

Implications of the standard

The advancements in workplace safety rules or technology usually mean that businesses have to make some changes to stay compliant. Employers will need to purchase new harnesses that meet the updated requirements and provide workers with training on how to properly use and care for their gear.

While these changes may seem like a hassle, they are actually quite simple to implement. And most importantly, they will help keep you and your co-workers safe from harm. So take the time to familiarize yourself with the new requirements and implement them to also avoid problems with the law. Falls can result in death, and some of the most serious injuries we see as certified specialist workers’ compensation lawyers, so they should be taken seriously.

Archives