Does ANSI Certify Fall Protection Equipment? Manufacturers Must Test Equipment in an ISO-Accredited Lab

摘要

The sale of fall protection equipment is a multibillion-dollar industry. This has led to some tremendous advancements in fall protection technology, but it has also led to a feeding frenzy for equipment manufacturers—some good, some not so good. As an ISO/IEC 17025-accred-ited testing laboratory, Gravitec Systems Inc. has seen firsthand the failures of equipment bearing the ANSI Z359 marking. These failures no doubt would have caused serious injury or fatalities to workers at heights. I'm not speaking of one-off anomalies, but complete product lines that have been manufactured incorrectly and would result in failure or maximum arrest forces far beyond the legal limit of 1,800 lb. Yes, all this from equipment bearing an ANSI label.