Wednesday, February 23, 2022
7:30 AM – 8:30 AM
Hosted by IECRM
Safety Forums are held monthly.
Upcoming Safety Forums Dates:
March 30, 2022 – Scaffolding, General Requirements, Construction (29 CFR 1926.451)
April 27, 2022 – Changed to Tour of DIA Tunnels – Limited capacity – first come, first serve
May 25, 2022 – Eye and Hearing Safety
June 29, 2022 – Respiratory Protection, General Industry (29 CFR 1910.134)
July 27, 2022 – MEWP
Member Forums will be scheduled monthly. Please watch your inbox for future dates.
Upcoming Member Forum Date: Wednesday, March 9 at 7:30 AM. Register now!
Watch the VIDEO RECORDING of Wednesday’s safety forum. It will also be sent out through IECRM Membership communications. If you are not currently receiving these important emails, let us know at [email protected].
Near Misses:
- With weather changes and freezing temperatures, fall risks are increased.
SAFETY FORUM RECAP
Subject Matter Expert:
Marc Malezija
Fall Tech
OES Products Group
[email protected]
Tyler Reeves
Colorado Safety Supply
[email protected]
720.375.6343
Colorado Safety is now doing training and SOPs in addition to providing safety supplies.
- Fleet Vehicle Safety
- Consider preparing your fleet vehicles with flares, first aid kits, and other safety equipment in case of an accident or vehicle breakdown.
New ANSI Z359.14-2021 (SRLs) updated standards will go into effect February 1, 2023
- 310 lb. test mass will replace 282 lb. test mass
- This will be implemented as each standard gets updated individually and is not an immediate global change
- More and more standardized labeling to make it more user friendly
- Focusing on simplifying the information
- Based on Membership Balance, there is a desire for more end-user members
- More feedback from end users is needed to move most of the standards forward beyond theoretically/behind the desk concepts
- 2014 Classifications are gone
- SRL, SRL-R, and SRL-LE
- Class A and Class B
- 2021 replaces
2021 SRL OVerhead Performance
2014 Class A & Class B
ANSI/ASSP Z359.14-2021 (SRLs)
- Testing requirements changes
- Test mass moves up to 310 lbs. For all testing
- Significantly more product testing required
- Twin SRL Connectors
- Tie-back SRL wrap around
- Major changes to product labeling and markings
- Unchanged:
- Leading Edge sharpness remains at 0.005”
- No provisions for testing on any substrate besides steel
- Claims for approval on other substrates (concrete) are done by the manufacturer (non-standardized)
Product Testing Program Expansion
- SRL-P’s have several new specific tests:
- 6-foot free fall dynamic performance test
- Twin or dual-leg devices will be dynamically tested with both leg-end connectors attached to ensure proper deployment of energy absorbers and provide warning if forces may exceed 1,800 lbs.
- Tie-back or Wrap-back SRL-Ps have additional static testing to validate the strength of the tie-back section when secured around an anchorage.
- Custom connectors for SRL-Ps have additional testing requirements
- Ultimately, this standard has introduced more static testing, more dynamic testing, more application-specific testing, more application-relevant testing, and increased factors of safety to continue to improve the quality and performance of SRDs available within the fall protection market.
Z359 Standard Approval/Effectivity Timeline
- Process is standardized
- Approved
- Date that the standard is approved by Main Committee vote
- Published
- Date that the standard is published on ASSP/ANSI
- Typically 3-6 months after Approval date (reconcile comments/formatting)
- Effective
- Standard become effective 1 year after Publication date
- Previous versions superseded
- Date of Manufacture becomes relevant for compliance
ANSI/ASSP Z359.11-2021 (FBH) – Safety Requirements for Full Body Harnesses
- Very minor update
- Testing Lab Safety
- Front D-ring Testing Issues
- Label Changes to match CSA
- Approved March 18, 2021
- Published April 14, 2021
- Effective May 1, 2022
ANSI/ASSP Z359.7-2019
- Approved on April 2, 2019
- Effective May 1, 2020
- Covers all qualifications and verification testing of fall protection products:
- Testing equipment requirements and specifications
- Documentation and Recordkeeping requirements
- All testing must be conducted in an ISO:17025 lab
- ISO:9001 accredited manufacturers must re-qualify every 5 years
- Non-ISO:9001 accredited manufacturers must re-qualify every 2 years
- Major Changes in this revision
- Required publication of Declarations of Conformity (DOC) or Certificates of Conformity (COC)
- Accrediting Agency must be identified on (DOC) or (COC)
- Make sure the accreditation is legitimate. Look at the Declaration of Conformity.
Compliance Timelines and “Grandfathering”
- ANSI is a voluntary consensus standard with no enforcement organization
- Manufacturer rules are different than end users
- As a manufacturer, we would be out of compliance for marking product to Z359.14-2014 if manufactured after February 1, 2023
- Can be viewed as black and white (February 1st, 2023, all equipment must be compliant and labeled to new standards
Why Does This Matter?
- “Higher level of transparency in a ‘buyer beware’ marketplace”
- Manufacturer is required to provide a document that states that the product complies with the standard and will perform as intended
- Accrediting Agency “stamp” is what legitimizes the document.
“Grandfathering”
- ANSI is a voluntary consensus standard with no enforcement organization
- Manufacturer rules are different than end-users
- As a manufacturer, we would be out of compliance for marking product to Z359.14-2014 if manufactured after February 1st, 2023
- As an end-user, you would be out of compliance for using a product marked to Z359.14-2014 after February 1st, 2023
- Can be viewed as black and white (Feb. 1st, 2023, all equipment must be compliant and labeled to new standard)
- Strict interpretation – EM385-1-1
- Any SRDs marked as compliant with Z359.14-2014 will be out of compliance after February 1st, 2023.
- Expect that most users will deploy a gradual transition as existing equipment comes out of service.
Open Q & A
- ANSI is a voluntary standard. Even if you continue to use non-compliant ANSI products, you are likely still OSHA compliant.
- Be mindful that you may see Fall Protection manufacturers putting out new products at high prices. Check on discounted items to check for ANSI compliance.
