Tuesday, August 6, 2013

ANSI Highlights ASSE Standard on Fall Rescue Systems

In the latest edition of its weekly What's New e-newsletter, ANSI continues its series explaining how voluntary standards cover a wide spectrum of workplace hazards. This week, the spotlight is on fall rescue systems, which are addressed in ANSI/ASSE Z359.14-2012, Self-Retracting Devices for Personal Fall Arrest and Rescue Systems.

Z359.14-2012 establishes requirements for the performance, design, qualification testing, markings and instructions, inspections, maintenance and storage, and removal from service of self-retracting devices (SRDs). Types of devices covered include self-retracting lanyards (SRLs), self-retracting lanyards with integral rescue capability (SRL-Rs) and self-retracting lanyards with leading edge capability (SRL-LEs). The standard also establishes requirements for SRDs intended for use in personal fall arrest or rescue systems for authorized persons within the capacity range of 130 to 310 lb (59 to 141kg).

The standard is part of the ANSI/ASSE Z359, Fall Protection Code, which covers basic fall safety principles including hazard survey, hazard elimination and control, and education and training. The primary intent is to ensure a proactive approach to fall protection; however, the reactive process of incident investigation is also addressed.

Read a tech brief on Z359.14-2012 here. Subscribe to ANSI's What's New here.