NOVENEX Toolbox Talk — Harness Inspection Before Every Use
Working at Heights · ±7 minutes · novenex.tech/toolbox-talks
Fall arrest equipment lives a hard life — sun, cement dust, welding spatter, being dragged across steel. A harness that fails under load fails completely. The pre-use inspection is not paperwork; it is the moment you decide the equipment will hold you.
Webbing and stitching
- •Run the full length of every strap through your hands — look for cuts, fraying, chemical stiffening and UV fade.
- •Check stitching panels for broken or pulled threads.
- •Any burn mark or hardened patch condemns the harness.
Metalwork and lanyard
- •D-rings and buckles: no cracks, distortion or heavy corrosion; springs snap shut cleanly.
- •Energy absorber cover intact — a deployed (stretched) absorber means the set is condemned.
- •Scaffold hooks close and lock with one hand.
System, not just harness
- •Anchor point rated and above the waist wherever possible.
- •Calculate fall clearance — a 2 m lanyard with absorber needs roughly 6 m of clear space below.
- •Check the inspection tag is in date; if the colour code is expired, hand it in.
Discussion — ask the crew
- Show the class where the inspection tag on your harness is and what the current colour is.
- What do you do with a harness that has arrested a fall?
- Where are our certified anchor points on the current job?
Attendance record
Site: ____________________ Date: ____________ Presenter: ____________________
Name: ______________________________ Signature: ________________
Name: ______________________________ Signature: ________________
Name: ______________________________ Signature: ________________
Name: ______________________________ Signature: ________________
Name: ______________________________ Signature: ________________
Name: ______________________________ Signature: ________________
Name: ______________________________ Signature: ________________
Name: ______________________________ Signature: ________________
Equip this talk
Requisition the harness and related equipment from the Supply Register.