Placement of harness inspection tags
Our trainers are often seeing equipment inspection tags being used on harnesses as a means of showing a record of inspection but could this tag pose a new hazard?
Australian Standard 1891.4 requires that harnesses and lanyards inspected by a competent person every 6 months and that there is a record of that inspection. However it is all too common for the inspection tag to be placed on the Dorsal Ring or other critical component of the harness.
There is at least one recorded case of a death where a worker has falsely connected onto a poorly placed inspection tag on their harness rather than the rear “D”.
Placement of the inspection tag and the identification tag (key ring) in the above image could cause;
- False Connection where the worker connects to the tag
- Fouled Connector where the gate of the carabiner or snap hook has caught the tag
- Misalignment of the connecter where a snap hook may end up in a position to cause roll-out (self opening of the gate)
Alternative tags could be utilised such as soft tags that wrap around the webbing in a position unlikely to cause any issue. Many manufacturers also provide a “harness inspection” log on the harness itself.
Always remember to complete an inspection of any piece of height safety equipment prior to using it. Your life may very well depend on it.
