Walter: For instructional purposes only, I'm using a harness that's designed for
training.
It's important if you are running a fall protection program, that
you do have a training kit put together, and you make people familiar with the
requirements for inspection.
We'll start with the full body harness.
We want to look at the d-ring; make sure it's round; feel it to make sure there's no nicks
in it; check it to make sure there's no warn spots.
Here this is an actual reproduction of a harness that came out of the initial wind towers at
Oregon.
When those towers were formed, the weldment to the inside had some
sharp edges, and the fellows that were working in there would lean
back on the tower and it would puncture their bodies and they would bleed.
That's an accident; so, they put apprentices, I'm
told, in the towers with grinders behind them to knock off those sharp barbs of metal and
occasionally they would come in contact with the d-ring.
Never inspected, do you have the same strength in a d-ring that's new and used and perfect,
as opposed to one that has been worked on.
You want to check inside where the d-ring goes through to make sure that there's
a protector between the metal and the fabric.
In this case, the manufacturers used a plastic tube that's
originally rounded and rotates.
Here, you'll notice that there is an overlap because it's had an impact, and when it impacts,
that plastic collapses and it stays in that manner to warn you that the
harness has been used before.
Understand all of this equipment is designed for a single time use and then it's retired.
Great place to accomplish your training.
I spoke about marking the harness, training only, but I also want to tell you that we
don't write on the equipment, and we don't brand it.
I've actually seen fellows use a wood burning tool and brand into the equipment.
The reason is these chemical compounds that are in many of your permanent markers, volatile
organic chemicals, and they literally melt the fabric
that we're working on.
You do want to feel the material by running a hand
down it.
When you do that, if there is distortion, you want to check and make
sure what it is.
In this case, we're also examining the fabric.
When I run a finger down, I've got a small burn.
Does it make a difference?
Well it might, because these are all directly involved in protecting the integrity of the
fabric.
The little stitching you see along here is a wear guard.
If you wear the edge through to where the black stitching shows, it's time
to get a new unit.
You look for completeness, and you look for no modifications.
Here's an example where somebody trimmed the end off, no telling why,
but it's there; and they cut the ends off.
That's important to recognize, because these tend to slip and move if
that break end is removed.
You want to make sure that the buckles do work.
When you come to the area where there are buckles, on this side for example, there's
a buckle, that if you're not careful, covers up an area where you run the webbing through
your hands.
You'll notice that there is a distortion here; it's no longer straight; it's pulled out around;
and that's because this has had an impact, and that's where the impact affected
that piece of this material.
It's not straight, it's a little kinky; if you get further down on the harness, you'll
find another burn mark.
Heat out there, we want to be very careful that we don't harm the equipment.
When we look at the buckles, we want to compare like components.
It doesn't take a person to recognize that here there's a keeper
spring; you can see the keeper spring has been removed.
That does happen, maybe has not been removed, but it's missing.
Why is that important?
Because that keeps this tight so that it doesn't slip, should you
have an incident or an accident.
Be careful with the bottom of the materials.
This is an area that is subject to a lot of abuse, particularly around heat.
We weld something, we bricks against it, next thing you know we've literally welded
our harness material and it doesn't function well once it's welded on or it gets
heat.
It melts, it gets brittle, and that's a real problem.
You want to look at your stitching.
When you look at your stitching, make sure that you turn it
over and compare, obviously complete obviously worn out.
You need those straps to stay in the same place if in fact you
do fall.
Check and make sure that the buckles that these run through are round.
You'll notice that this buckle and its mate have that same type of protector between fabric
and metal designed to roll.
A roller buckle once impacted, the metal will come out of round and it'll simply overlap
itself.
You'll also change the spindle, but it's easier to look at that part than it is this part,
to determine what's wrong.
Down on this end, we pay particular attention to the groin straps.
We get to one here that's got a dip, or a cup in it; that's where the spindle was when
this unit was dropped; and it's out around and pulled free.
In an actual full fall, these will tear.
They tear down the lateral equipment here, and they do provide a little
shock absorbency.
They also are intended to break at the ends, and if
you cut the break off, it's important that you remember to grab a handful so they
don't fall off in your hand.
If you find these things, don't throw the equipment
away.
Turn it in, get new or somebody else's good used equipment, and use
something like this for training.
It's invaluable in what you do.
Let's talk a moment about things we don't use.
We don't use the bolts.
It's very obvious that something is wrong when you examine the material that's here,
that this bolt may be rated; but it's rated only for a direct bolt in line with the thread.
You get this bolt 90 degrees and you pull it, it's worth about
a third of what the unit is worth.
These actually come off of a major site in Oregon
that were installed by somebody who knew they needed anchors, but
didn't understand the application of the bolt.
When we look at the snap hooks, they need to be labeled.
This one has no label and it's available in any dime store.
You'll frequently find these connecting the chains on a trailer with somebody that doesn't
value his trailer.
A little bit of impact, these go away in a hurry.
You want things that belong.
When you look at the snap hooks, a mountaineering type snap
hook, very lightweight; nothing wrong with it being aluminum, but it also needs
to function.
The spring clip doesn't work; it goes back; it takes a push; and then
some force to get it to turn.
It doesn't belong in the program, and yet they show up all the time.
Everybody wants to be a mountain climber and the colors are predictable.
Check your carabiners; need to open and close; read what's on them; make sure that you
understand what's being talked about.
It's talking right here about kilonewtons, and it takes 22.2 kilonewtons
to be five thousand pounds.
A legitimate carabiner requires two separate actions.
You look for a fall protection program; something that opens and closes automatically.
Not something you have to screw shut, but you check them to make sure they close.
You read the labels and make sure they're rated.
Legitimate ones will tell you they're rated to ANSI Z359, and they will
give you the strength requirement stamped right on the component.
Snap hooks, we want to make sure that they're rated.
We look at a snap hook; we see the information that's presented on it.
What we want to make absolutely certain is they are legitimate.
Legitimate manufacturers will brand the hook where it came from; it'll tell you that it's
a forged hook, and it's worth five thousand pounds; it will open and close automatically,
and it's engineered for what's intended.
It's interesting, here is a rebarb hook.
On the other end, a legitimate chain, from somewhere.
I want to ask the question, how do you think that connection right there is rated?
Chances are, it's not; chances are it's convenient, and the person with the hook utilized older
Hooks, piece of roller chain, and something he bought at the hardware
store.
Please, if you engineer your own equipment, take out your own insurance policies.
Bigger is not necessarily better.
Here's an example of a large snap hook; opens and closes; opens and closes; but the spring
itself is broken.
Defective components that create an accident, are easy
to inspect following the accident.
Simply don�t use them.
Components have to function.
Here's a snap hook that was part of an actual accident, and if you look
at this snap hook down this parallel, you'll see here the impact that
somebody hit it; so that working with the d-ring, all they had to do was hook it up
without manipulating anything; no closure; recognize too that easy on, easy off.
You got to have that closing gate to make that a legitimate component.
Legitimate component; 5,000 pound snap hook.
When you look at this one right here, down here, it tells you this end is worth 1,800
pounds.
But, it is not fall protection equipment; it's an industrial fastener that somebody
has sewed in to make a lanyard extension.
A shock absorbing lanyard is probably the easiest to inspect.
When you look at one of these, make sure that the stitching along the outsides is there.
You check the snap hooks to make sure they're legitimate; lock and close.
If in fact they don't have a label, or they are extended, and it's easy to tell the extension
because when it comes out there will be a wad of material that'll
look like it's shredded, and it actually is, and that's where the shock absorbency
comes in to a shock-absorbing lanyard.