Safety Harness Inspection — Pre-Use Checks and LOLER for Fall Arrest Equipment (2026)

Where Harnesses Sit in the Hierarchy

Before talking about inspection, it's worth being clear on where a harness belongs. Under the Work at Height Regulations 2005 there is a strict hierarchy of control, and personal fall protection is the last resort — not the first thing you reach for.

• Avoid work at height altogether where you reasonably can (assemble at ground level, use long-reach tools).
• Prevent falls using collective protection that protects everyone without them having to do anything — guardrails, working platforms, scaffold edge protection, MEWP cages.
• Minimise the consequences of a fall with collective measures such as nets or airbags.
• Personal fall protection — a harness-based system — only where collective measures aren't reasonably practicable.

A personal fall protection system is made up of several components that must work together: a full body harness, a lanyard, an energy absorber (shock pack) for fall arrest, connectors / karabiners, and a suitable anchor point. The system is used either for fall arrest (stopping a fall that has already started) or work restraint (a fixed-length set-up that physically stops the worker reaching the edge). Restraint is always preferable — if a worker can't reach the fall point, there's nothing to arrest.

The Three Layers of Inspection

Fall protection equipment is inspected at three levels. As a business owner you need a system that covers all three and produces a paper trail. Skipping any layer is the failure mode that shows up in HSE investigations after an incident.

1. Pre-Use Checks (the user, before every use)

The person who is about to clip on inspects their own equipment before every single use. This is a visual and tactile check — they run the webbing through their hands looking and feeling for damage, because a cut or chemical burn that the eye misses can often be felt. It takes a couple of minutes and it is non-negotiable.

A pre-use check covers the whole system: harness webbing, stitching, D-rings, buckles, the lanyard, the energy absorber and every connector. If anything fails the check, the kit comes out of service immediately and a backup is used.

2. Detailed / Interim Inspections (a competent person)

At intervals set by your risk assessment, a competent person carries out a more thorough documented inspection. As a rule of thumb this is done at least every 6 months, but the interval must be shortened where conditions are harsher — for example every 3 months for frequent or arduous use, exposure to chemicals, sharp edges, grit, heat or constant UV. The competent person is someone with the training, knowledge and experience to spot defects and make a sound judgement, and who is independent enough to condemn kit without commercial pressure.

3. Thorough Examination (LOLER-style thinking)

Here's where people get confused. PPE used for work at height is governed primarily by the PPE at Work Regulations rather than LOLER. However, because a fall arrest system is, in practice, equipment that holds a suspended person, the sensible and widely adopted approach is to apply LOLER-style thorough examination thinking to it. In practice many duty holders treat fall arrest equipment to a 6-monthly thorough examination by a competent person, formally recorded — the same cadence LOLER applies to lifting equipment used for lifting people. Whatever framework you cite, the outcome is the same: scheduled, recorded, competent-person examination on top of daily pre-use checks.

What a Pre-Use Check Actually Looks At

Give every operative this checklist. It should become muscle memory — the same sequence, every time, before they clip on.

• Webbing: run it through your hands the full length. Look and feel for cuts, fraying, abrasion, chemical damage (stiffness, discolouration, glazing) and UV degradation (fading, powdery surface, brittleness).
• Stitching: check for cut, worn, pulled or broken threads, especially at load-bearing seams.
• D-rings and attachment points: no cracks, distortion, sharp edges, corrosion or excessive wear.
• Buckles and adjusters: they engage positively, hold load and aren't bent, cracked or seized.
• Energy absorber / shock pack: intact and not deployed — if the pack has begun to tear out or extend, the harness or lanyard has taken a load and must be quarantined.
• Lanyard: no cuts, fraying or chemical damage along its length; correct length for the job.
• Karabiners and connectors: gates open, close and lock fully; no distortion, corrosion or cracks; auto-locking gates spring back cleanly.
• Labels: manufacturer markings, standards, serial number and inspection date legible. If the label is missing or unreadable, you can't verify the kit — take it out of service.

Records: The Part That Gets Forgotten

An inspection that isn't recorded didn't happen, as far as the HSE is concerned. Every harness should carry a unique serial number and have its own inspection history. Most businesses run this through a simple inspection log or a tagging system — a coloured tag or label that shows the next inspection due date so any operative can see at a glance whether the kit is in date.

Your records should capture, for each item: the unique ID, the date of each formal inspection, the name of the competent person, the result (pass / quarantine / destroy), any defects found, and the date the next inspection is due. Keep these for the life of the equipment. When you tender for larger contracts or principal contractors audit you, this paperwork is often the first thing they ask for.

Quarantine and Destroy — Never Reuse

This is the rule that saves lives and the one most often broken on busy sites. Any harness or lanyard that has arrested a fall must never be used again, full stop — even if it looks fine. The energy absorber is designed to deform and dissipate that energy once; it has done its job and cannot do it again. The same applies to any item that fails inspection.

Failed and fall-arrested kit must be quarantined immediately so nobody picks it back up by mistake, and then destroyed — physically cut up so it can never be returned to service. "I'll sort it later" is how a condemned harness ends up back on a roof. Cut it on the spot, log it, and replace it.

Lifespan and Storage

Even a perfectly maintained harness doesn't last forever. Always follow the manufacturer's guidance, but as a typical figure a webbing full body harness has a working life often quoted at around 5 to 10 years from first use, depending on the maker, the conditions and its inspection history. Some manufacturers also set a maximum shelf life from the date of manufacture. Shock packs and lanyards are replaced after any deployment regardless of age.

Storage has a direct effect on how long kit survives. The enemies of webbing are sunlight, chemicals, sharp edges and damp:

• Store away from direct sunlight and UV — a closed bag or box, not on the parcel shelf of a van.
• Keep clear of solvents, fuels, battery acid, cement and other chemicals.
• Protect from sharp edges, swarf and grit that abrade or cut the webbing.
• Dry kit before storage and keep it somewhere dry and ventilated — damp encourages mould and degrades fibres.
• Don't leave harnesses crushed under tools or coiled around sharp ironwork in the bottom of a van.

Suspension Trauma and the Rescue Plan

Arresting a fall is only half the job. A worker left hanging in a harness can develop suspension trauma (suspension intolerance) — blood pools in the legs, return to the heart drops, and the casualty can deteriorate dangerously within minutes, even while conscious. Waiting for the fire service is not a plan.

The Work at Height Regulations require you to plan for emergencies and rescue. Before anyone clips on, you must have a rescue plan that lets you recover a suspended person quickly, using your own equipment and trained people on site. That means having the rescue kit present, someone trained to use it, and trauma-relief straps where appropriate to take pressure off the legs while the casualty is recovered. If you can't answer "how do we get them down in the next few minutes?" then the work shouldn't start.

Quick Reference: Harness Inspection Regime UK 2026