This Guidance Notes is prepared by theOccupational Safety and Health Branch,Labour Department

This edition January 2005

This Guidance Notes is issued free of charge and can beobtained from offices of the Occupational Safety andHealth Branch, Labour Department. It can also bedownloaded from website of the Labour Department athttp://www.labour.gov.hk/eng/public/os/C/belt.htm.Addresses and telephone numbers of the offices can befound in website of the Department at http://www.labour.gov.hk/eng/tele/osh.htm or call 2559 2297.

This Guidance Notes may be freely reproduced exceptfor advertising, endorsement or commercial purposes.Please acknowledge the source as "Guidance Notes onClassification and Use of Safety Belts and theirAnchorage Systems", published by the Labour Department.

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I. Introduction

Fall from height is a primitive hazard when a workerworking at height. The provision of a suitable workingplatform, safe access and egress, as well as properfencing to a dangerous place are the primary safetymeasures that the local safety regulations have askedfor. The use of safety nets and safety belts are only thelast resort when it is impracticable to provide suchplatforms, access and egress and safe place of work.

Statutory provisions on the use of safety belts are setout in:

(i) it is impracticable to take adequate stepsas required under regulation 38B(1) or (1A)of the Construction Sites (Safety) Regulations(CSSR) for preventing any person on the sitefrom falling from a height of 2 metres ormore;

(ii) it is impracticable to provide or ensure theuse of safe means of support as requiredunder regulation 38C of the CSSR;

(iii) the use of suspended working platformsunder regulation 15 of the Factories andIndustrial Undertakings (Suspended WorkingPlatforms) Regulation;

(iv) the use of a receptacle of less than 900 mmdeep for carrying persons by a liftingappliance under regulation 18B(1) of theFactories and Industrial Undertakings (LiftingAppliances and Lifting Gear) Regulations;and

(v) working in a confined space for undergroundpipework under section 9(b) of the Factoriesand Industrial Undertakings (Confined Spaces)Regulation.

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Other examples that require the use of safety belts butare not explicitly stated in the law are :-

(i) working on container tops during cargo orcontainer handling under regulation 10B ofthe Factories and Industrial Undertakings(Cargo & Container Handling) Regulations;

(ii) working at a dangerous place which requiresalternative protection under regulation24(a) of the Factories and IndustrialUndertakings Regulations; and

(iii) working at a dangerous place which requiresalternative protection under section6(1) of the Occupational Safety and HealthRegulation.

'Safety belt' referred in this guidance notes is acollective name for the following types of harnesses andbelts :-

(i) safety harness or fully body harness;

(ii) semi-harness or chest harness;

(iii) rescue harness;

(iv) work positioning belt, pole safety belt orlineman safety belt; and

(v) general purpose safety belt.

It includes a lanyard. When a safety belt works with anappropriate anchorage system, they form a personal fallarresting system.

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'Competent person' mentioned in this guidance notes shouldbe a person who has the knowledge and experience toclassify and use safety belt, competent in identificationand selection of various types of anchorage systems forthe use of the safety belt, and capable to check theapparent defect of the belt and its anchorage system.

'Professional Engineer' mentioned in this guidance notesshould be an engineer who is a corporate member of theHong Kong Institution of Engineers within a relevantdiscipline or the equivalent.

This guidance notes provides information on someconfigurations of anchorage systems, the types, uses andspecifications of safety belts under several nationalsafety standards. As safety belts are imported from variouscountries, suitable safety belts or safety belts requiredunder the law are those safety belts which meet thespecifications of national safety standards, such asBritish Standard (BS), European Standard (EN), AmericanNational Standard (ANSI), Japanese Industrial Standard(JIS) or Safety Belt Standard of Japan's Ministry ofLabour, the People's Republic of China National Standard(GB) or equivalence. Although BS or EN is quoted in thisguidance notes, equivalent national or internationalstandards can also be used.

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II. Selection of Industrial Safety Beltsand their Anchorage Systems

(1) Consideration to use safety net

When it is impracticable to provide suitable workingplatform, safe access and egress, safe place of workand fencing of dangerous place where a worker is requiredto work at height, consideration of erecting safetynet is always the secondary option to protect theworker from injury due to falling hazard. It isrecommended that EN 1263-1:2002 Safety nets - Part 1 :Safety requirements, test methods be complied with. Inaddition, the users should seek the opinions of thesafety net manufacturers, so that the best net whichsuits the type of work to be conducted under theprevailing conditions can be chosen. For the siting ofsafety net (outrigged), EN 1263-1:2002 & 1263-2:2002should be complied with. Although BS or EN is quoted inthis guidance notes, equivalent national or internationalstandards can also be used.

(2) Planning

During the planning process, primary consideration shouldbe given to methods of avoiding the use of the safetybelt and tackling the possibility of provision of safeplace of work or adopting of a proper safety net as asecondary option.

The use of safety belt and its anchorage system is onlythe last resort of fall protection if it is impracticableto erect any safety net. In this case, careful planningfor the selection of safety belt and choice of anchoragesystem should be first drawn up before they are putinto use by workers.

Prior to the selection of safety belt and its anchoragesystem, the contractor or proprietor should develop aplan which identifies the following ingredients:-

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Before 1992, general purpose safety belts were definedin British Standard BS 1397:1979. However, the standardwas withdrawn in 1993. General purpose safety belt was nolonger covered by the BS or EN.

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Under regulation 38H(3) of the Construction Sites(Safety) Regulations, safety belts shall not beconsidered as suitable and adequate unless they areattached continuously to a suitable and secure anchorage.

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Photo 4 - bamboo scaffoldinge r e c t i o n /dismantling usingrope chuck andvertical independentlifeline

Photo 5 - metal scaffoldinge r e c t i o n /dismantling usingrope chuck andvertical independentlifeline

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(d) Safety Harness under GB 6059-85

Under the People’s Republic of China National Standard,GB 6095-85, there are three types of full body harnesses.They have similar shape of shoulder straps but withdifferent forms of lanyards and thing/leg straps. Thewidth of the waist strap shall be between 40mm and 50mm.

The shapes of these full body harnesses are shown inFigure 17, 18 & 19.

The best performance, packing details and instructionsfor use are specified in the standard.

Figure 17 T2XB Full Body Harness (GB)

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Figure 18 T3XB Full Body Harness (GB)

Figure 19 T4XB Full Body Harness (GB)

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(c) Scaffolding Safety Belt under GB 6095-85

Figure 23 J1XY Scaffolding Safety Belt (GB)

There are two types of scaffolding safety belts underthe People’s Republic of China National Standard GB6095-85. They have similar waist straps but with differentforms of lanyards. The shapes of these two types ofsafety belts are shown in Figures 23 & 24.

Figure 24 J2XY Scaffolding Safety Belt (GB)

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The design, construction, static and dynamic strengthand test of a work positioning belt are defined in thisEuropean Standard, i.e. EN 358:2000. The waist strapshall be not less than 43 mm wide and the back supportnot less than 100 mm. It can be equipped with adjustableshoulder and sitting straps. The lanyard shall beequipped with a length adjuster and shall have a maximumlength of 2 m under all normal circumstances. Whenpurchase, clear instructions for fitting, adjustmentand use are supplied with each belt. Markings with thenumber of standards, name of manufacturer, serial number,year and month of manufacture are available in theproduct packing. Figure 27 is a work positioning belt.

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(d) Pole Safety Belt under GB 6095-85

Under the People's Republic of China National StandardGB 6095-85, there are a number of pole safety beltsincluding general pole safety belts, electrician safetybelts and signalman safety belts. Each of these safetybelts works with a pole strap wrapping around a pole tosupport the weight of the worker. They have differentforms of waist straps and lanyards. In addition to awaist strap, only one of these safety belt types (DW1FElectrician Safety Belt) is provided with a chest strap.Its configuration is shown in Figure 29. An example ofpole safety belts without chest strap (DxW2Y SignalmanSafety Belt) is illustrated in Figure 30.

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Figure 29 DW1F Electrician Safety Belt (GB)

Figure 30 DXW2Y Signalman Safety Belt (GB)

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List of Reference

1. European Standard, EN 353-1 and EN 353-2: 2002Personal protective equipment against falls from aheight : guided type fall arresters.

Part 1: Guided type fall arresters including arigid anchor line

Part 2: Guided type fall arresters including aflexible anchor line

2. European Standard, EN 360 : 2002Personal protective equipment against falls from aheight - retractable type fall arresters.

3. European Standard, EN 361:2002Personal protective equipment against falls from aheight - full body harnesses.

4. European Standard, EN 795 : 1997Protection against falls from a height - Anchor devices- Requirements and testing

5. British Standard, BS 1397 : 1979Specification for industrial safety belts, harnessesand safety lanyards.(Note: this standard was superceded by EN 354, 355,358, 359, 361, 362, 363, 364, 365 )

6. British Standard, BS 5845 : 1991Permanent anchors for industrial safety belts andharnesses(Note: this standard was superceded by EN 795 : 1997)

7. British Standard, BS 6858 : 1987Specification for manually operated positioningdevices and associated anchorage lines for use withindustrial safety belts and harnesses.

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Useful Information

If you wish to enquire about this Guidance Notes orrequire advice on occupational safety and health, youcan contact the Occupational Safety and Health Branchof the Labour Department through:

Telephone : 2559 2297 (auto-recording after office hours)Fax : 2915 1410E-mail : enquiry@labour.gov.hk

Information on the services offered by the LabourDepartment and on major labour legislation can alsobe found by visiting our Homepage on the Internet athttp://www.labour.gov.hk.

Information on the services offered by the OccupationalSafety & Health Council can be obtained through theirhotline 2739 9000.