Annual Testing & Certification
ANNUAL TESTING & CERTIFICATION
The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 require employers to maintain fall arrest and tool arrest equipment in good repair. In addition, the Work at Height Regulations 2005 requires that equipment which is exposed to conditions causing deterioration should be inspected ‘at least twelve-monthly’ although more frequent inspections is highly recommended.
There is a wide range of possible damage to fall arrest/tool arrest equipment caused by misuse and abuse, general wear and tear, edge/surface damage, ultraviolet light, dirt, grit, chemicals and heat.
As part of our ongoing commitment to the maintenance and safe use of products we provide a full retest and annual certification process for all products that we supply. These can be individually tested and a hard copy certificate issued or tagged with an RFID tag and uploaded to an online software system for clients to login and download their data as required subject to annual access fee.
Our certified engineers will test and certify your products to ensure that you comply with the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER) and the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER). Regular routine testing extends the operational lifetime of your equipment and ensures compliance.
A 1 mm cut on the edge of a lanyard or harness can result in a 40% loss in the strength of the product. It is therefore essential that if fall arrest/tool arrest products are to provide the protection required, they must be kept in a good state of repair and be subject to an effective inspection regime.
Employers should set up a regime for the inspection of fall arrest/tool arrest products. This should include a record which details as follows:
- the fall arrest/tool arrest equipment to be inspected (including the unique serial numbers)
- the frequency and type of inspections (pre-use checks by the operative, monthly inspection by a competent person and detailed inspection by a third party where appropriate)
- designated competent persons/company to carry out the inspections;
- action to be taken on finding defective equipment.
Persons carrying out any inspection should be sufficiently independent and impartial to allow them to make decisions and have the authority to discard defective equipment if required.
It is recommended that there is a detailed inspection monthly particularly where the equipment is used in arduous environments involving paints, chemicals or grit blasting operations and acidic or alkaline environments.
Fall arrest/tool arrest equipment that has been used to arrest a fall should never be reused. It should be withdrawn from service immediately and destroyed or returned to the manufacturer.