EN
item is affected by or interferes with the safe function of another.
• before each use of personal protective equipment, it is obligatory to carry out a pre-use check of
the equipment, to ensure that it is in a serviceable condition and operates correctly before it is used.
• during pre-use check it is necessary to inspect all elements of the equipment in respect of any
damages, excessive wear, corrosion, abrasion, cutting or incorrect acting, especially take into
consideration:
- in full body harnesses and belts - buckles, adjusting elements, attaching points, webbings, seams,
loops;
- in energy absorbers - attaching loops, webbing, seams, casing, connectors;
- in textile lanyards or lifelines or guidelines - rope, loops, thimbles, connectors, adjusting element,
splices;
- in steel lanyards or lifelines or guidelines - cable, wires, clips, ferrules, loops, thimbles, connectors,
adjusting elements;
- in retractable fall arresters - cable or webbing, retractor and brake proper acting, casing, energy
absorber, connector;
- in guided type fall arresters - body of the fall arrester, sliding function, locking gear acting, rivets
and screws, connector, energy absorber;
- in metallic components (connectors, hooks, anchors) - main body, rivets, gate, locking gear acting.
• after every 12 months of utilization, personal protective equipment must be withdrawn from use to
carry out periodical detailed inspection. The periodic inspection must be carried out by a competent
person for periodic inspection. The periodic inspection can be carried out also by the manufacturer
or his authorized representative.
• in case of some types of the complex equipment e.g. some types of retractable fall arresters the
annual inspection can be carried out only by the manufacturer or his authorized representative.
• regular periodic inspections are the essential for equipment maintenance and the safety of the
users which depends upon the continued efficiency and durability of the equipment.
• during periodic inspection it is necessary to check the legibility of the equipment marking. Don’t
use the equipment with the illegible marking.
• it is essential for the safety of the user that if the product is re-sold outside the original country of
destination the reseller shall provide instructions for use, for maintenance, for periodic examination
and for repair in language of the country in which the product is to be used.
• personal protective equipment must be withdrawn from use immediately when any doubt arises
about its condition for safe use and not used again until confirmed in writing by equipment manu-
facturer or his representative after carried out the detailed inspection.
• personal protective equipment must be withdrawn from use immediately and destroyed (or other
procedures shall be introduced according detailed instruction from equipment manual) when it has
been used to arrest a fall.
• a full body harness (conforming to EN 361) is the only acceptable body holding device that can be
used, in a fall arrest system.
• in full body harness use only attachment points marked with a capital letter "A" to attach a fall
arrest system.
• the anchor device or anchor point for the fall arrest system should always be positioned, and the
work carried out in such a way, as to minimise both the potential for falls and potential fall distance.
The anchor device/point should be placed above the position of the user. The shape and con-
struction of the anchor device/point shall not allowed to self-acting disconnection of the equipment.
Minimal static strength of the anchor device/point is 12 kN. It is recommended to use certified and
marked structural anchor point complied with EN795
• it is obligatory to verify the free space required beneath the user at the workplace before each
occasion of use the fall arrest system, so that, in the case of a fall, there will be no collision with the
ground or other obstacle in the fall path. The required value of the free space should be taken from
instruction manual of used equipment.
• there are many hazards that may affect the performance of the equipment and corresponding
