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Fall protection for users weighing over 100 kg

Fall Protection
Fall Protection

MSA has been in the business of safety at height since 1930. Today we’re a global leader in supplying a range of innovative fall protection products that are approved to the respective European standards. There are a number of key standards relating to fall protection systems for use in industrial environments. EN 361 is one of the standards that specify Personal Protective Equipment against falls from a height.

The requirements for testing harnesses included in EN 361 state that a full body harness shall withstand two successive drop tests with a load of a 100 kg mass. Harness capacity rated this way should never be exceeded, as this may lead to a significant injury or death during the arrest of a free fall. However, fall protection users regularly raise the question: “Which full body harness can be used by a person whose weight, including equipment and tools, weighs more than the 100 kg test dummy?"

In this case, a manufacturer of fall protection equipment may test and approve the product to a capacity higher than 100 kg. This requires more robust product design and materials, as such a product has to withstand much more weight than normally required by EN 361. Higher capacity has been achieved for all attachment points of our MSA Workman Premier and Workman Utility harnesses. They are allowed now to be used with a nominal load up to 140 kg!

It is important to highlight that the complete fall protection system must be rated to an increased capacity in order to provide proper protection. A person of responsibility should verify the capacity of each component, including harnesses, connecting means and anchorage points. The users of MSA Workman Premier and Workman Utility equipment can now take advantage of an increased harness capacity with our Workman SRLs, which are approved up to a load of 136 kg. This allows these products to be combined to form a system that provides quality, comfort and performance, exceeds standard requirements and meets demanding users’ applications.