April 30, 2008

PETER KENTER

Scott Patrick displays the location of the fall arrest indicator, an important feature of fall protection harnesses manufactured under new CSA standards.

Workplace Safety

Fall-restraint maker North Safety Products issues warning

CSA regulation change may impact harnesses

PETER KENTER

correspondent

Two fall protection standards issued last year by the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) have caused concern among end-users who worry that their fall protection programs are no longer compliant.

“We see a lot of concern about whether equipment manufactured before that date is still compliant with current safety regulations,” says Scott Patrick, an account executive with the Toronto office of North Safety Products, a manufacturer of safety equipment.

The two standards, CSA Z259.10-06, Full Body Harnesses and CSA Z259.11-05, Energy Absorbers and Lanyards went into effect on September 1, 2007.

“Any fall protection equipment that was certified by CSA before last September remains compliant. It wasn’t users who needed to comply, but the manufacturers who were responsible for shifting production to the new standards,” Patrick explains.

The major changes in the standards involved improving the strength and weight capacity of fall protection systems to accommodate the rising average weight of Canadian workers.

“As a species, we’re just getting heavier,” says Patrick.

CSA Z259.11-05 is divided into two sections, E4—Standard, for workers between 45 kilograms (kg) and 115 kg, and E6—Heavy Worker, for workers weighing between 90 kg and 175 kg. “We expect to see CSA standards for workers heavier than this,” says Patrick.

“We currently manufacture energy absorbers for workers up to 200 kg, using CSA testing protocols, but there are no new standards for that weight class as yet.”

Patrick notes that the weight classifications cover more than just the weight of the workers themselves. “It’s all of the equipment that’s part of the job, and it’s the cold weather gear that we need to wear to work outdoors in the Canadian climate as well,” he says.

One of the major visible changes in fall protection devices manufactured under the new standard is a fall arrest indicator, a small stitched area on both harness straps that will tear away after a worker has experienced a fall.

“If properly worn, a fall protection harness will save your life — once,” says Patrick. “Once the stitched area has torn away, it will reveal an indicator that will leave no doubt that the equipment has achieved its purpose and can’t be reused.”

Patrick says that CSA is currently looking at revisions to standards that would improve the safety and testing of descent control devices and require increased strength for anchorage connectors. A proposed guidance document, CSA Guideline for Selection and Use of Fall Protection Equipment, is currently under preparation.

“It will be a guidance document only,” says Patrick. “Nothing in it will be mandatory.”

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