Fall Protection Harness & Lanyard Inspection Checklist [FREE PDF]

This inspection aid is informed by applicable OSHA fall-protection requirements, manufacturer instructions, and relevant ANSI/ASSP Z359 standards. Completing the checklist does not establish OSHA compliance or re-certify equipment to ANSI/ASSP Z359.11. Equipment disposition is separate from training, rescue and inspection-record closeout. Maintained by POPProbe; independent verification of these revisions is pending.

• Industry: Construction / General
• Frequency: Before each use; follow applicable OSHA, manufacturer and site requirements
• Estimated Time: 20-30 minutes
• Role: Competent Person
• Total Items: 42
• Compliance: OSHA 1926.502 (construction system criteria, where applicable), OSHA 1926.503 (construction training, where applicable), ANSI/ASSP Z359 (product/system references; no field re-certification)

Identification & Equipment History

• Record the fall-hazard assessment/plan, intended system function (restraint, positioning or fall arrest), and the approved compatible component configuration.
• Are manufacturer-specific inspection, removal-from-service, cleaning, storage and component-compatibility instructions available and being used?
• Are required manufacturer, model/product, serial/lot, manufacture-date and applicable markings present and legible for this product?
• Does the harness meet manufacturer-specified service/retirement criteria, considering age where applicable, condition, use/exposure history and inspection results?
• Has the harness or connected subsystem arrested a fall, been impact loaded, or shown deployment indicators?

Harness Webbing & Stitching

• Is webbing free of cuts, broken fibers, fraying, abrasion, burns/heat, chemical damage and other manufacturer-defined rejection conditions?
• Is webbing free of contamination or exposure damage requiring cleaning/removal under manufacturer instructions, and can it be effectively inspected?
• Is visible load-bearing stitching free of broken, cut, pulled, loose or missing threads and other manufacturer rejection conditions?
• Is webbing free of observable brittleness, cracking, discoloration, glazing, stiffness or other manufacturer-identified deterioration?
• Harness condition notes: component, defect location and manufacturer criterion consulted

Harness Hardware

• Are all attachment elements provided on this harness free of rejection-level deformation, cracks, sharp edges and corrosion, and securely attached?
• Do this harness's buckles engage and operate securely according to manufacturer instructions?
• Where fitted, are grommets, keepers, adjusters and retainers intact, with adjustment hardware holding its setting?
• Is hardware free of corrosion/pitting or other deterioration meeting manufacturer removal-from-service criteria?

Lanyard / SRL / Connectors

• Is the lanyard/SRL free of cuts, kinks, abrasion, heat/exposure damage and contamination requiring action under manufacturer criteria?
• Is the lanyard free of knots?
• Where an energy absorber is fitted, is it free of deployment, tearing, elongation, opened cover, activated indicators or other manufacturer-specified loading evidence?
• If an SRL is used, does it extend/retract smoothly and pass the manufacturer's prescribed locking/function test?
• Are all connectors undamaged, self-closing/self-locking as required, correctly loaded and compatible in size/shape with mating hardware?
• Lanyard, SRL and connector observations and disposition evidence

Donning & Fit

• Is the designated attachment positioned as required by this harness's manufacturer donning instructions and intended system?
• Are chest straps and buckles positioned, adjusted and engaged according to manufacturer instructions, without twists or unsafe looseness?
• Are leg straps untwisted, securely engaged and fitted to maintain intended body support under manufacturer instructions?
• Are excess webbing ends secured in the provided keepers to prevent snagging or entanglement?

System & Fall-Clearance Compatibility & Anchorage Verification

• Before exposure, is there documented confirmation that available clearance is adequate using the specific system/manufacturer calculation and work geometry?
• Record the calculation/reference, required clearance and available clearance with units, work geometry and the person confirming adequacy.
• Does the selected subsystem and anchorage location satisfy applicable OSHA system criteria, manufacturer limits and any qualified-person design requirements?
• For a personal fall arrest system, is the anchorage independent of platform-support/suspension anchorages and verified under either permitted OSHA 1926.502(d)(15) path?
• Record the selected anchorage basis
• Is anchorage location suitable for the connecting subsystem, work position, swing-fall exposure, free fall and available clearance?
• Is the anchorage approval basis and authorised person identified for the intended system?
• Anchorage identifier, approval/design reference, applicable basis and authorised person's confirmation

Final Equipment Disposition

• Record final equipment disposition
• If removed or pending evaluation, is equipment tagged/quarantined and secured against inadvertent reuse?

Program Verification/Closeout

Separate program controls and documentation, not equipment/garment condition scoring. N/A is available where a control does not apply. Program readiness must be resolved before exposure even if the equipment is serviceable.

• Is required periodic inspection current at the manufacturer, applicable consensus-standard, site-program or other governing interval?
• Are required periodic inspection records current under the governing interval and available for review?
• Required inspection interval/basis, last inspection date and record reference
• Are certificates/declarations or conformity documents required by the site, jurisdiction, manufacturer or procurement program available?
• Optional/site-required evidence: photograph of an equipment defect
• Before fall-arrest work begins, are appropriate prompt rescue/self-rescue provisions established, communicated and feasible?
• Are applicable training and retraining verified under the governing fall-protection standard?
• Document observations, controlled repair/replacement/destruction, responsible person, target/completion dates and final closeout

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Inspection Scope and Field Counts

48 total form fields: 6 identification/header fields, 42 section fields across 8 sections. 8 section fields are separate program/documentation closeout. 32 fields are required for completing the form, not 48 independent pass/fail criteria. Notes, evidence, counts and program controls do not score equipment or garment condition. Passing records only the evaluated conditions under manufacturer/site criteria; it does not re-certify equipment or guarantee regulatory compliance. The first free PDF download requires an email address and basic contact details.

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