The normal life of safety harnesses is considered to be approximately five years, however, it can differ depending on its make, category in terms of quality, and the way it is used. Considering the great importance of safety harnesses, it is always recommended to ensure that they are in good condition. Employers, safety officials, and also the users should have an eye to ensure the usability and consistency of a safety harness after its long-term use and should make it leveled as expired. It is better to dispose of them forever. However, a common question arises in the mind of users about how long it would be safe to use them, says Jason Wible Frenchcreek.

Who Decides Whether The Safety Harness Is In Good Condition?

Precisely, there is no clear-cut yardstick of inspection and maintenance or defined criterion that can help decide how long a safety harness can be in good condition.  Most importantly, none of the OSHA and ANSI have declared any code that can describe the time. This means the safety officers or auditors or trainer is the right person to determine the life of a safety harness after the necessary check process and evaluation.

Why Is No Mandated Date Of Expiration For A Safety Harness Mentioned?

Precisely, no date is mandated by OSHA or ANSI to avoid users having an untrue sense of security, which might not be practical and likely to be risky. As experienced most harnesses expire depending on how they are used. On the contrary, providing an expiry date can lead to the carelessness of having the necessary inspection as per schedule – which is vital.

This is because, in case it is not properly used, maintained, or stored even if a branded product can be unsafe for use. Jason Wible Frenchcreek states that workplace conditions and various factors affect the condition of the harness or its allied elements and thus lessen its potential to prevent a fall. Identifying the signs that demonstrate a safety harness is affected or not up the condition should be taken into consideration to mark it as expired and should be destroyed.

Factors That Can Affect The Condition Of Fall Protection Equipment Adversely

First of all, all safety harnesses should be cared for with diligence while one should peruse the inspection rules to enhance and uphold the ability and longevity of the system. The following are the factors that can affect its quality.

• Overexposure to UVR or sun rays tend to worsen the synthetic materials of it. Keeping it in a cool place and beyond sunlight is the best practice.
• If any harness is painted with color, the chemical of the color can deteriorate the synthetic elements used in the webbing framework. Even if coated, it needs to be removed without delay as per the instruction of the manufacturer.
• The metal elements in the protection tool such as D-rings as well as buckles can become weak in the event they get exposed to acidic substances. If such things happen, the parts should be cleaned as per the manufacturer’s instructions.
• Storing it in an unfavorable environment can damage its quality and longevity.
• If the potential of fall harness gear is affected by one-time fall prevention. That needs to be discarded immediately.

The above factors should be taken into consideration apart from the guideline of the manufacturer and regular inspection should be made to check if there is any kind of wear or tear, damage, etc., and accordingly discarded as being expired.