Fall Protection Standards
EN 361:2002 Personal protective equipment against falls from a height. Full body harness.
This standard states that the harness has passed the free fall test involving a free fall drop with a 100kg weight in the harness to simulate a person. This shows how the harness will respond in a fall.
EN 1497:2007 Personal fall protection equipment – rescue harnesses
This European standard specifies requirements, test methods, marking and information supplied by the manufacturer for rescue harnesses. Rescue Harnesses conforming to this standard are used as components of rescue systems, which are personal fall protection systems.
EN 358:2018 Belts and lanyards for work positioning or restraint
Work positioning belts/lanyards are subjected to a drop test to generate a shock load on the product. A lesser force is applied to the work positioning belt/lanyard compared with fall arrest harness attachments as the possibility of a period of free-fall is significantly less in use. Work positioning belts/lanyards are subjected to a 1 metre drop and in both cases, the belt/lanyard is required to safely arrest the fall of the test dummy or test weight following the drop.
Belts are first subjected to cycling between no force and 1kN 5 times, followed by 5kN tensile force to assess slippage of webbing through buckles. The force is then increased 15kN, which is applied and held for at least 3 minutes, to ensure the breaking strength of the product is in excess of the force specified by the standard. A work positioning lanyard is assessed in the same way but using a force of 4kN for the slippage test.
Metallic components used in fall protection equipment are subjected to a neutral salt-spray test intended to prove a minimum resistance to environmental corrosion (specifically rust). Products are held within a sealed chamber, which is filled with a salt-water mist, which can induce rust in unprotected metals. Products are subjected to 48 hours exposure and examined for rusting and function afterward.
EN 813:2008 Personal fall protection equipment – Sit harnesses
EN 813 species requirements, testing, marking and information to be supplied by the manufacturer for sit harnesses to be used in restraint, work positioning and rope access systems, where a low point of attachment is required.
EN 360:2002 Personal protective equipment against falls from a height. Retractable type fall arresters.
This standard deals with fall arrester with self locking device and a self-retractable system for the lanyard. An energy dissipating element can be built-in to the equipment.
EN 354:2010 Personal protective equipment against falls from a height. Lanyards.
This standard indicates that the lanyard has withstood a free fall test without releasing the load or doing undue damage to it.Insert your text here
EN 355: 2002 Personal protective equipment against falls from a height. Energy absorbers.
This standard is for lanyards with shock absorbers. These are lanyards that are suitable for attachment to a full body harness and connection to an anchorage point. The shock absorber part of the lanyard reduces the shock caused in the event of a fall being arrested by slowing down the speed of the arrest.
Connectors / Rope / Rope Grab
EN 362:2004 Personal protective equipment against falls from a height. Connectors.
This standard shows that all connectors in this range have passed the strength test required for this standard.
EN 353-2:2002 Personal protective equipment against falls from a height. Guided type fall arresters including a flexible anchor line.
This standard describes the different test methods for traveling devices incorporated into systems made up of a line intended to be fixed (either temporarily or permanently) to a structure.
EN 1891:1998 Personal protective equipment for the prevention of falls from a height. Low stretch kernmantle ropes.
This standard confirms that low stretch kernmantle ropes have the ability for low extension during normal work activities but the ability to withstand forces generated by a fall.
EN 795 :2012 Personal Fall Protection Equipment – Anchor Devices
This standard pertains to anchorage devices to be used as part of a fall protection system. It tests the devices to make sure they can withstand the maximum dynamic force generated in a fall.