In my visits to clients all over Brazil, what I see most often is height equipment that is either not fit for use, or not used properly.
And today I would like to comment specifically on a piece of equipment that is used in the vast majority of companies and to which not enough attention is given. It is the retractable fall arrest device, a retention piece of equipment or connecting element according to NR-35 (important to note that this equipment no longer has CA, only the safety harness is considered PPE, according to ordinance 292 of the MTE in 2011). The retractable fall arrest device is the only equipment that can be maintained. As determined by ABNT Nº14628, “Retractable fall arrest device” cites:
Item 07 subparagraph F: establishes that the retractable fall arrest device must be sent for inspection by the manufacturer or company indicated by him. The period between inspections may not exceed 12 months.
With this determination, which must be informed and is included in the equipment manual, companies should have no doubts about the inspection of the equipment. But, unfortunately, the determination is not complied with by more than 70% of the companies. It is very common to come across equipment that has been installed for years, without any kind of maintenance or proper inspection.
But why should you do this maintenance? Just because the norm requires it? Absolutely not!
Companies should perform annual inspections, first of all because you usually only find out that the equipment, used daily for up to three shifts, has a possible defect when you need it most: in the event of a fall. And, if the equipment is not in good condition, it will cause an accident that may even lead to the employee’s death.
My question is: is it worth taking this risk?
I use the following question as an example: don’t we have our vehicles serviced regularly to keep them in good condition at all times? It is not much different from this.
So check the situation of your equipment and set up a maintenance schedule for this equipment! The majority of manufacturers are able to provide maintenance for their fall arrest devices. Important: Only the manufacturer or a company authorized by him can perform the proper maintenance of the equipment and issue the certificate of inspection of the equipment!
I have seen reports of companies in the market that are performing maintenance and “re-certification” of equipment without the manufacturer’s knowledge or authorization.
We point out that any change in the equipment without the manufacturer’s knowledge or authorization is mischaracterizing the PPE, which is prohibited by standard (NR-6 and also in the RAC Fall Protection Individual Equipment No. 388/2012 INMETRO conditioning and compliance evaluation).
And the equipment altered by other companies will lose their warranty and will also not be the manufacturer’s responsibility for damages that it may cause to the worker, in case of a possible accident with the equipment, or by means of any notification or infraction notice by the Ministry of Labor, the competent body to inspect the equipment through its government agencies.