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Today my station safety officer conducted gear inspections and pulled my personally bought Gemtor harness saying it has to be inspected annually at my own expense. Anybody know what the deal with this is. I read the NFPA 1983 guideline on it but I don't know where to go to have this done.
We recently started using the Gemtor harness. In looking at the instruction booklet from Gemtor and the NFPA standard I gathered the following:
NFPA
5.2.3 Life Safety Harness User Information.
5.2.3.1 The manufacturer of life safety harness that is certified
as being compliant with this standard shall furnish the
purchaser with at least use criteria, inspection procedures,
maintenance procedures, and retirement criteria for the
product.
5.2.3.2 The manufacturer shall provide information for the
user regarding at least the following issues:
(1) Inspecting the harness periodically according to the
manufacturer’s inspection procedure
(2) Removing the harness from service and destroying it if the
harness does not pass inspection or if there is any doubt
about the safety or serviceability of the harness
(3) Not exposing the harness to flame or high temperature
and carrying the harness where it will be protected as the
harness could melt or burn and fail if exposed to flame or
high temperature
(4) Repairing the harness only in accordance with the manufacturer’s
instructions
(5) Keeping the user instructions/information after it is separated
from the harness and retaining it in a permanent
record; copying the user instructions/information and
keeping the copy with the harness
(6) Referring to the user instructions/information before
and after each use
(7) Cautioning that, if the instructions/information are not
followed, the user could suffer serious consequences
Gemtor
IV. INSPECTION
Users shall establish their own formal routine inspection according to prevailing conditions with a minimum of one formal inspection each month. Visual inspection is required before each use, for mildew, wear, frayed edges, damage and other deterioration. Defective components shall be removed from service.
1. Buckles, D-rings, and snaphooks shall not be distorted, nor have any sharp edges, burrs, cracks, worn parts or corrosion. Make sure buckles work freely. The snaphook gate spring shall provide tension to keep the snaphook gate in a closed position; it shall close flat against the snaphook and exhibit no sideways movement or play.
2. All webbing shall be free of frayed or broken fiber, pulled stitches, tears, abrasions, mold, burns or discoloration.
I hope this is helpful for You and your Safety Officer.