The short answer
Yes. A detailed inspection by a competent person at least every 6 months — every 3 months where use is arduous — plus a pre-use check by the user before every single use. Anything that has arrested a fall comes out of service immediately, regardless of date.
Three layers, not one
Height safety equipment is covered by three separate levels of check, and they are not alternatives to each other. Confusing them is the most common failing we see.
| Check | Who | When | Recorded? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-use check | The user | Before every use | No |
| Detailed inspection | Competent person | At least every 6 months | Yes |
| Interim inspection | Competent person | Between detailed inspections, risk based | Yes |
| Post-fall withdrawal | Anyone | Immediately after arresting a fall | Yes |
When 6 months becomes 3
Six months is the baseline for equipment in normal service. Where conditions are arduous the interval reduces, commonly to three months, and in some environments to monthly interim inspections between the formal ones.
Arduous is not a judgement call you should be making alone — but the indicators are consistent: equipment used daily rather than occasionally, work in grit, dust, mud or swarf, exposure to chemicals or hot work, salt or marine conditions, UV exposure from permanent outdoor use, and kit that lives loose in a van rather than in a bag.
What a pre-use check does and does not do
The pre-use check is the most valuable thing in this list because it happens most often, and it costs nothing. It catches the cut that appeared yesterday, the deployed indicator, the buckle that came back distorted. Users should be shown what to look for, and given the authority to reject equipment without argument.
- □Webbing: cuts, fraying, abrasion, chemical staining, heat glazing, fading from UV.
- □Stitching: broken, pulled or abraded threads, especially at load-bearing joints.
- □Buckles, D-rings and adjusters: distortion, corrosion, cracks, sharp edges, correct function.
- □Fall indicators and energy absorbers: any sign of deployment, even partial.
- □Labels: still present and legible — an unidentifiable harness cannot be verified as in date.
When equipment must come out of service
Withdrawn equipment should be removed from circulation the same day and destroyed or clearly quarantined. A condemned harness left hanging on the same peg as serviceable ones will find its way back into use.
- □Immediately after it has arrested a fall — no exceptions, no visual inspection reprieve.
- □If a fall indicator or energy absorber shows any sign of deployment.
- □Cuts, chemical attack, heat damage or heavy abrasion to webbing or stitching.
- □Distorted, cracked or heavily corroded metalwork.
- □Missing or illegible identification labels.
- □Beyond the manufacturer’s stated lifespan, whatever its apparent condition.
The records that matter
Each item needs individual identification and its own history. That means a serial number, a date of manufacture, a date of first use, and a record of every detailed inspection with the verdict and the next due date.
In practice this is why we tag and log per item rather than per set. A box of six harnesses is not an asset; six individually recorded harnesses are, and only one of those two situations can be evidenced to an auditor or after an incident.
Still not sure?
Describe your equipment and we will tell you what applies