Definition - What does Safety Harness mean?
A safety harness refers to a piece of personal protective equipment (PPE) fitted with a body strap unit, reinforced buckle/strap attachments, a lanyard, and an anchorage point, capable of supporting human weight in the case of a fall or slip. Unlike traditional body belts, a safety harness offsets the inertia, or the force of momentum, accommodated by the surface tension necessary to suspend the wearer from a height until a rescue protocol follows.
SureHire explains Safety Harness
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), personal fall arrest systems (PFAS) underline the vertical force equivalent up to 1,800 pounds, representing the mass displacement of weight an individual can withstand wearing a safety harness. The distribution of force is a parameter in safety harness use characteristic of a neutral fit parallel to the spinal contour transferring the projected impact throughout the body to cushion a fall. While safety harnesses operate as an immediate safeguard to avoid catastrophe following a fall/slip, the applied leverage on the extremities (i.e., arms, legs) can potentially lead to suspension trauma. Blood accumulation in the legs is an example where rescue crews must exercise caution when laying an individual supine (flat on back) on the ground since the inrush of blood back to the heart can induce cardiac arrest.
A qualified expert may conduct regular inspections on safety harnesses to ensure the structural integrity of the device, boosted by demonstrative training sessions for proper wear and use. Additionally, a qualified expert can figure the working weight differential tailored to each individual. It is imperative to choose the appropriate safety harness, consigned to designated task or tasks across different industrial fields of work, factoring into the equation anchorage points fortified to compensate resistance under suspended weight to break a fall.
