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Occupational Safety & Health Administration |
Standard Interpretations
09/23/1999 - Neither a waist nor chest strap is a required part of body harness. |
Standard Interpretations - Table of Contents |
Standard Number: | 1926.500(b); 1926.502(d)(16); 1910.66 App C |
September 23, 1999
Janice C. Bradley Re: 1926.500(b); 1926.502(d)(16); 1910.66 Dear Ms. Bradley:
This is in response to your letter dated April 1, 1999 to the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA). You ask if a "body harness," as that term is used in both
Both standards define the term body harness
to mean "straps which may be secured about the employee in a manner that will distribute the fall
arrest forces over at least the thighs, pelvis, waist, chest and shoulders with means for attaching it to
other components of a personal fall arrest system" (29 CFR 1926.500(b); §1910.66,
Appendix C,
The definition does not require nor does it exclude the use of a waist or chest strap as part of a full
body harness, as long as the harness properly distributes the fall arrest forces. Both standards
require that the maximum arresting forces on the worker, when using a body harness as part of a
personal fall arrest system, be limited to 1,800 pounds (8 kN) (§1926.502(d)(16);
§1910.66, Appendix C,
If you require any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us again by writing to: OSHA-
Directorate of Construction, Office of Construction Standards and Compliance Assistance,
Room N3468, Sincerely,
Russell B. Swanson, Director |
Standard Interpretations - Table of Contents |
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