Competent Person Inspection of Fall Gear
Fall arrest equipment wears out from sunlight, dirt, chemicals, sharp edges and rough handling. Two levels of inspection keep it reliable: a check by the user before every use, and a more thorough periodic inspection by a competent person.
- Construction
- General Industry
Photo: competent person bending harness webbing to look for cuts, with an inspection log and tag
Two levels of inspection
| User inspection | Competent person inspection | |
|---|---|---|
| When | Before each use | Periodically, at least yearly under ANSI Z359 (more often for harsh conditions or per the manufacturer) |
| Who | The worker wearing it | A person trained to evaluate the equipment and authorized to remove it from service |
| Record | Usually none | Written record or inspection tag |
What to look for
- Webbing: cuts, frays, burns, melted spots, broken stitching, chemical damage, stiffness, fading from UV
- Hardware: cracks, bends, sharp edges, corrosion, gates that don’t close and lock
- Impact indicators: deployed or torn shock-pack covers, indicators showing a fall
- SRLs: cable or webbing damage, line that won’t retract or lock, cracked housing, missing labels; service per the manufacturer
- Labels: present and readable, showing the model, date of manufacture and capacity
- Anchors: secure, undamaged, and right for the load. See Anchors
Remove from service
- Any equipment that arrested a fall, until a competent person inspects it (most must be destroyed or returned to the manufacturer).
- Anything with defects or missing labels.
- Gear past the manufacturer’s service life, if one is given.
Tag it “Do Not Use” and keep it away from usable gear, or destroy it so it can’t be picked up by mistake.
Care and storage
- Clean with mild soap and water; air dry away from heat and sunlight.
- Hang harnesses in a cool, dry place, away from chemicals and sharp objects.
- Don’t mark webbing with markers or paint unless the manufacturer allows it.
- Don’t use fall arrest gear for hoisting materials.
Make it routine: many companies assign each harness to one worker and do a monthly or quarterly competent person check with color-coded tags or stickers, so anyone can see at a glance that the gear is current.
Standards & references
- 29 CFR 1926.502(d)(21): Inspection of personal fall arrest systems
- ANSI/ASSP Z359.2: Managed fall protection programs
- See also: Harness Inspection & Fitting
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